How Chinese shoppers downgraded their ambition
The trend will dismay the country’s policymakers
![Inside a Mixue Ice Cream & Tea restaurant in Beijing.](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240810_FNP506.jpg)
“Even those born poor fear the heat.” This slogan, printed on a lemonade from Mixue, a drinks-and-ice-cream chain, says a lot about Chinese consumption. The beverage has been a wild success during a heatwave sweeping the country, less for its tart, refreshing properties than for its price. A cup sells for as little as 3.6 yuan ($0.50), compared with 15 yuan for milk tea. Its popularity, bloggers speculate, reflects darkening consumer sentiment and growing stinginess. Consumers are rapidly trading down, from higher-cost goods to cheap substitutes, and many want to squeeze out every last drop of their spending power.
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This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Sour taste”
Finance & economics August 10th 2024
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