China turns shopping into immersive experience

Together, Snack Kingdom and Wanlou illustrate a broader shift in China's consumer market, from simply buying products to paying for emotional value and unique experiences.

Official data show that China's total retail sales of goods and services rose 2.7 percent year on year in the first half of 2026. Service retail sales increased 5.3 percent, outpacing the 1.1-percent growth in goods retail sales, with cultural, sports, and leisure services posting particularly strong growth.

Final consumption expenditure contributed more to economic growth during the period than capital formation and net exports. Huang Hanquan, head of the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research, said service consumption expanded relatively quickly, the consumption structure continued to upgrade, and new growth drivers gathered momentum.

Young consumers are helping propel this change, with creative markets, music festivals and AI-powered products emerging as new areas of spending and gaining wider exposure through social media, travel and cultural exchanges.

Xiangtan is applying the same logic to large events. During the sixth Hunan Tourism Development Conference, cultural and tourism venues in the city received 276,500 visits, an increase of 44.84 percent year-on-year, according to local authorities.

Sports have opened another path. Xiangtan has combined football and basketball competitions, including the Xiang Super League, with food, leisure, product exhibitions and nighttime entertainment.

Across 13 match days of the 2025 Xiang Super League, the city established 16 nighttime viewing and consumption zones and nearly 200 additional viewing sites across commercial venues, schools and factories. The activities indirectly drove an estimated 1.45 billion yuan (about $214 million) in consumption, local authorities said.

The pattern extends beyond Hunan. At the Longfusi Summer Fair in central Beijing, visitors can sample food from time-honored brands, enjoy beer and tea beverages, watch performances and explore displays of intangible cultural heritage. The fair, running from June to October 2026, is bringing new vitality to a nearly 600-year-old neighborhood that once hosted one of Beijing's most important temple fairs.