What are the latest Lunar New Year shopping trends in Southeast Asia?

When we talk about Lunar New Year, what comes first in your mind? It might be the red colour that symbolizes the joy and prosperity, or also the excitement to reunite with the big family of few generations. Just thinking of that, who don’t get excited to prepare for the celebration?

Other than cleaning, adults and kids alike would shop for the celebration and get ready to go back to their hometown. They shop for traditional clothes to adorn on the day, prepare the groceries for dinner or buy ticket to return home. Shouldn’t it be easy to find good deals?

But, here’s what you need to know. Not everything with the word “sale” or “deals” comes first in their mind. It’s time to dig into the hot trends that could be useful for your next Lunar New Year shopping or your CNY sales strategy to win the market.

Which countries get excited for Lunar New Year?

According to Think with Google, Lunar New Year festive-related terms are the highest searched from the past 5 years based on the ranking of the countries below:

Singapore recorded the highest searches for CNY related keywords, followed by Malaysia by two times, and Hong Kong followed as third. Singaporeans and Malaysians preferred using the word “promotion” instead of “offer”, “deal” and “sale”.

It is also noted that these two countries were not only looking for the CNY promotions on its season, but all year long.

Where would they spend their money?

With good deals everywhere, it is the best time to save, and also to splurge. Regardless of how much angpaos you receive afterwards, your cash flows around that circle, especially, on these CNY necessities!

1. New Clothes
Who doesn’t buy new clothes for new year? It is a must and according to the tradition, the redder your dress is, the luckier you get that year. So why not we go redder this time? It is also said to buffer the bad luck. People who bought new clothes online would usually spend a certain minimum amount to get discounts.

2. Food
As mentioned, dinner is a very important event on the New Year. For Malaysians and Singaporeans, Yusheng topped the search chart during the season. The prosperity toss is a deep rooted tradition for both countries, also named as the Malaysian heritage food. The food symbolizes good fortune and prosper the whole year.

It is crucial for grocery store to curate a special section or creating the related promotion for Yu Sheng for shoppers to grab the ingredients easily, considering it as the highlight of each house and even in the search engine.

3. Angpaos
Angpaos are usually given by hand to family members or parents. It is still widely received in a red packet which keep the tradition alive across Southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, China has started giving digital angpao around, for example via WeChat, but still keeping the traditional, pretty angpao design. It comes as no surprise considering their daily activity that widely use e-wallet, as the usage is mutual.

4. Decoration
Unlike Singapore and Malaysia, Vietnamese found Feng Shui (or, Phong Thuy) the most interesting topic during the New Year instead of food. This trend might be beneficial for decoration or furniture stores in Vietnam. It is helpful for them to receive the tips and ideas on how to arrange their furniture to keep their living space more comfortable.

5. Travel
Malaysians love to spend CNY with family and friends, hence they would spend their money for transportation tickets, Grab or petrol fuel to return to their hometown. However, some Chinese from the mainland prefer to spend it abroad.

It recorded 31.3% increase of arrivals in Malaysia compared to last year’s CNY. Whereas 330,000 visitors celebrate in Thailand spending more than USD 314 million. As they are considered digital travellers, e-wallet should welcome them regardless when or where they go.

Missed the tips and ideas for this Chinese New Year? Let’s keep these in mind for your next year’s celebration.

Would like to know how you can grow your profits during festive season, please do not hesitate to reach us out!