Shenzhen: An outlier in spending habits
Shenzhen, despite having among the highest per capita incomes in China, and the third-highest disposable income per capita has significantly lower consumer spending than other first-tier cities.
In 2017, Shenzhen's per capita disposable income rose to 27,505 yuan (US$4,232); this is second only to Shanghai and Beijing among all Chinese cities, and nearly 10,000 yuan higher than the corresponding figure in Guangzhou. Yet, its per capita consumer spending is lower even than Wuhan, a city in which per capita incomes are roughly half those enjoyed by Shenzhen's residents. Why?
Shenzhen's GDP is slightly smaller than Guangzhou's (970.9 billion yuan vs. 989.1 billion yuan), but its per capita income and growth rate are both higher. Nonetheless, per capita consumption is lower than in Guangzhou. As late as 2013, retail sales in Shenzhen were growing rapidly, performing in a way comparable to other major cities, but after 2014, sales fell by 10%...
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