The lead-up to Chinese New Year is a traditionally reliable sales period for seafood, but not this year, according to Peng Song, the CEO of Qingdao-based Beiyang Jiamei Seafood.
Established in 2009, Beiyang Jiamei imports Arctic shrimp, cod, and salmon as well as Ecuadorian shrimp and Greenland halibut and sells it via Seamix Seafood, one of the most popular seafood brands in China, with a strong following on retailer sites including JD.com. Beiyang Jiamei has been a leading advocate of bringing more Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified products into the Chinese market.
Taking place on 10 February 2024, Chinese New Year is not bringing its typical surge in seafood sales, Peng said.
“Although our business is not that much affected, as we have a better product portfolio to access diversified channels, we noticed that from October on, the sales were slower than before,” Peng told SeafoodSource.
A slow economy and uncertainty surrounding its future growth has made Chinese consumers wary of spending, Peng said.
“My feeling is that most consumers are a bit panicked about the future; for that very reason, they are holding their wallets tighter than before,” he said.
Best-sellers for the Seamix brand recently have been vannamei shrimp, salmon, and cod, but Peng said competitors are offering massive discounts to entice sales.
“Discounting has been larger than in previous years,” Peng said. “For example, during last year’s 11-11 Day [Singles Day], some e-commerce platforms offered a discount of 30 percent off for goods priced over CNY 199 [USD 27.80, EUR 25.80]. This year, the discount was 30 percent off for goods priced over CNY 99 [USD 13.86, EUR 12.80], and combined with discount coupons, the actual discount will be even greater.”
There are other signs that China’s enormous e-commerce sector – while remaining a dominant economic force – could be waning in popularity. In an analysis of this year’s Singles Day sales, Chinese research consultancy Syntun suggested consumer fatigue as a factor, as various Chinese e-commerce promotions now cover two-thirds of the calendar year.
Nevertheless, even with sluggish growth, China’s e-commerce sector dwarfs online markets in other countries. E-commerce sales in China from January to October 2023 rose 11.2 percent year over year and account for a 33.9 percent global e-commerce market share in value terms.
Major players in the space remain focused on grabbing market share, often through aggressive price cutting. China’s primary e-commerce platforms have also faced competition from new players, which has changed buying patterns. Among the newer platforms available to consumers is Xiao Hong Shu, or Little Red Book in English, which allows consumers to recommend products.
The platform “is a new link between supply and demand,” Peng said, targeted toward an emerging trend in Chinese e-commerce:
“It has changed from traditional e-commerce to interest e-commerce. Consumers have changed their original consumption habits from content to things of particular interest to them and then [consuming it],” Peng said.
However, this year’s Singles Day season still “showcased the resilience and growth of China’s consumption market” for traditional online retailers, according to JD.com, which pointed to new initiatives on its platform that the company said helped to lift sales despite increasing competition.
Discounting is occurring not just within the online retail space, but also within the country’s foodservice sector, which is also operating within a heavily saturated market.
“The restaurant business is getting more and more difficult [to operate within] day by day this year,” Peng said. “KFC, McDonald’s, etc. have to use coupons to get more diners. We do some foodservice business, and we got feedback from customers that the business is even more difficult than last year.”
Photo courtesy of Zhejiang Fisheries Circulation and Processing Association
