What China’s malls tell us about 2026 spending

If you want to understand where Chinese consumer spending is actually going in 2026, stop looking at macroeconomic spreadsheets and start looking at the ground floor of a premium Chinese shopping mall. For the past three years, the most expensive, high-foot-traffic retail real estate in China was dominated by a single category: electric vehicles. Brands like Nio, Xpeng, Li Auto, and Tesla took over the prime spots traditionally reserved for global luxury houses or fast-fashion flagships. They built sleek, minimalist showrooms to capture the attention of a rising middle class obsessed with the new mobility revolution. But walk through those same malls today, and the landscape has shifted. EV showrooms are quietly exiting. In their place, a new cohort of brands is moving in — and they tell a completely different story about what the Chinese consumer values right now. While headline numbers might suggest a cautious consumer, the reality is that spending hasn’t stopped; it has relocated. To understand the 2026 Chinese consumer, we need to look at who is taking over the ground floor. Here are the three categories replacing EV showrooms and what they signal for global brands. The rise of emotional retail: Pop Mart and the identity economy When an EV showroom closes, it is increasingly being replaced by a brand selling something entirely intangible: emotional value. Pop Mart, the Beijing-based designer toy maker, is aggressively expanding its physical footprint, moving from automated vending machines and small kiosks into massive, experiential ground-floor flagships. The financial backing for this expansion is staggering. In late March 2026, Pop Mart reported that its full-year 2025 revenue had surged by nearly 185% to RMB 37.1 billion ($5.4 billion), driven largely by the global phenomenon of its Labubu character series. But why is a blind-box toy company taking over prime real estate? Because in 2026, Chinese consumers are prioritizing identity consumption over pure utility. During the EV boom, consumers were buying into a vision of technological progress and status. Today, amid broader economic recalibration, they are spending heavily on items that provide immediate emotional comfort, community belonging, and a sense of personal identity. That shift explains the rise of brands like Pop Mart, whose stores are not just retail spaces but community hubs where fans trade figures, take photos, and engage with the IP. For global brands, the lesson is clear: if your product only competes on functional specifications, you are vulnerable. The brands winning prime leases today are those that can articulate a clear emotional proposition and build a community around it. Self-care as status: Lululemon and the wellness premium The second category aggressively expanding into vacated ground-floor spaces is premium activewear and wellness, led most visibly by Lululemon. While some global brands have struggled to maintain momentum in China, Lululemon’s recent earnings tell a positive story. In its fiscal 2025 results released in March 2026, the company reported that mainland China revenue surged by 29%, making it one of the brand’s fastest-growing regions globally. This growth is physically manifesting in Chinese malls. Brands like Lululemon, Vuori (which recently opened its fifth China store in Hangzhou), and Alo Yoga are taking over large, prominent spaces to build experiential stores that often include community workout areas. This reflects a profound shift in how Chinese consumers view health and wellness. It is no longer just about going to the gym; it is a holistic lifestyle choice that signals status, self-care, and personal investment. The “sports + daily” attire trend means that premium activewear is now acceptable in almost any social setting, from the office to a weekend brunch. The exit of EVs and the entry of premium activewear signals a shift from external, high-ticket status symbols (the car you drive) to internal, personal investments (how you care for your body and mind). Brands that can position themselves at the intersection of wellness, community, and daily lifestyle are finding a highly receptive audience. Tech as engagement: Unitree Robotics and the experiential showroom The third category moving into the ground floor might seem surprising: consumer robotics. In December 2025, Unitree Robotics — a leading Chinese developer of quadruped and humanoid robots — opened its first physical store in Beijing’s JD Mall. The store features interactive zones where consumers can high-five robot dogs and watch humanoid robots perform martial arts. This is a crucial evolution of the showroom concept. When EV brands opened mall stores, the goal was ultimately a high-ticket transaction. Unitree’s presence is different. It represents the “debut economy” (shoufa jingji 首发经济) — a strategic push by Chinese cities to host first-to-market launches and immersive, tech-driven retail experiences. In 2026, Chinese consumers expect physical retail to be entertaining, interactive, and highly shareable. They are not just going to malls to buy things; they are going to experience cutting-edge technology in a tactile way. Unitree’s store is less about selling a robot dog on the spot and more about brand building, consumer education, and creating a viral, experiential moment. For luxury and retail brands, this raises the bar for physical stores. A beautiful fit-out is no longer enough. The space must offer an interactive, technologically integrated experience that cannot be replicated online. The data behind the shift If you think this mall shuffle is anecdotal, the macroeconomic data backs it up. When the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released its retail sales data for January and February 2026, the headline figure showed a modest 2.8% increase. But look beneath the surface, and the story aligns perfectly with what we see in malls. While traditional goods retail grew by 2.5%, services retail grew by 5.6%. The catering industry grew by 4.8%. Online retail sales of goods jumped by 10.3%. The Chinese consumer hasn’t stopped spending; they have simply reallocated their budget. They are spending less on big-ticket durable goods and more on services, experiences, wellness, and emotional satisfaction. The government itself recognized this shift in early 2026 by reweighting the Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket to give more prominence to services, education, culture, and entertainment. The ground floor is open The ground floor is being reclaimed by brands that understand Chinese consumers’ desire for emotional connection, holistic wellness, and immersive experiences. Global brands looking to succeed in China must look past the retail headlines and pay attention to where the foot traffic is actually flowing. The consumer is still there, and they are still spending — but the rules of engagement have fundamentally changed. Ashley Dudarenok is a Chinese entrepreneur, author, and media personality, recognized by Thinkers50 as a “guru on fast‑evolving trends in China.” She is the founder of ChoZan, a China‑focused research and digital transformation consultancy. Ashley and her team help multinationals learn from China through tailored China innovation tours, research, and boardroom briefings. She is a keynote speaker, author of three bestselling books, runs a popular newsletter, and shares her insights with a B2B community of over 500,000 China watchers across LinkedIn and YouTube. Her latest endeavor is The Hidden Switch, a show spotlighting billion‑dollar founders from emerging countries who are reshaping the world.

What China’s malls tell us about 2026 spending

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What China’s malls tell us about 2026 spending

How Bottega Veneta weaved China’s forever it bag