Many societies coming out of their industrial periods have struggled with periods of intense, localized pollution, and China’s current battle with smog-covered cities proves that it’s no different. However, what’s new this time around is that China’s economy doesn’t have to suffer because of its homebound citizens.
The Wall Street Journal reported that China’s pollution-ridden cities are seeing modest increases in online retail activity across the board since the residents of certain cities have been warned to limit their exposure to the outside air at certain times of the day. From the week of Nov. 30 to Dec. 6, WSJ explained that online marketplace Taobao registered more than 600,000 searches for face masks — a 41.1 percent increase compared to the month prior.
That’s not the only region where Chinese consumers are looking to stock up during this uncertain period. According to the state-sponsored China Daily newspaper, smog-trapped urban dwellers have increased their searches for condoms online as a result of their confinement and possible developing cabin fever.
It’s not known when the air quality situation will improve in Beijing and other areas, but that hasn’t stopped at least some Chinese consumers from maintaining hope — as their purchases indicate. Outdoor fitnesswear has been a target of online shoppers since the smog set in, China Daily reported, which shows that consumers are more than ready to embrace the retail therapy aspect of online shopping as readily as they do for in-store businesses.
Of course, China Daily admitted that this could all be another case of anxiety purchasing as the mob drives demand higher than it needs to be on account of a craze about the weather. While Western consumers are all too happy to play the same game when blizzards make their way up the northeast or a tropical storm sweeps up to L.A., it’s unclear if Americans’ online ordering priorities fall in line with their Chinese counterparts.
The U.K. has reportedly replaced its competition watchdog for failing to prioritize the government’s growth agenda.
According to a report Wednesday (Jan. 22) by Reuters, the government has replaced Marcus Bokkerink as head of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) with Doug Gurr, former head of Amazon’s U.K. operations.
During an event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, British finance minister Rachel Reeves said she needed a CMA head who agreed with her “strategic direction.”
“He recognized it was time for him to move on and make way for somebody who does share the mission and the strategic direction that this government are taking,” Reeves said.
The report notes that Bokkerink’s ouster came one day after Donald Trump returned to the White House, pledging to reduce regulation governing industries such as the tech sector. Some of that work is already underway, with Travis Hill, acting chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), saying Tuesday (Jan. 21) that the agency would conduct a “wholesale review” of banking regulations.
Critics of the U.K. government’s decision say it suggests a period of regulatory rollbacks is about to begin in England, which has typically not been shy on cracking down on big business.
“Now is the time to file your mergers with the CMA,” said Tom Smith, former legal director at the authority and now competition lawyer at Geradin Partners. “The government is sending a clear signal that it wants the CMA to go easy on dealmakers.”
According to Reuters, the U.K.’s Labor government, facing pressure to jumpstart the economy, has called on regulator to “tear down the barriers hindering businesses” and focus on growth, though some have questioned whether rolling back competition rules would achieve this.
After his removal, Bokkerink said on a LinkedIn post that markets should not be held back “by a few powerful incumbents setting the rules for everyone else.”
The move follows other recent measures in the U.K. to relax financial regulations. Sam Woods, chief executive of the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority, told a House of Lords committee earlier this month that financial resilience and economic competitiveness “go hand in hand” as he discussed efforts to address government demands to bolster economic growth.
The changes can happen without leading to “a race to the bottom” on financial regulation, he told the chamber’s financial services regulation committee.