"Thousands of households always exchange new peaches for old charms." At the end of the year, it is Chinese New Year's Eve. Chinese New Year's Eve day is the time when each household hangs the couplet and pastes the blessing word, and it is also a long-term custom to buy couplet products years ago. And this year's Spring League can be described as "competing with each other": many stores have launched creative couplets such as illustrator designs and well-known IP joints, such as mobile phone Spring League, Mini Fuzi, Dunhuang Guofeng Couplet, Sanrio Cute Couplet, Starbucks Limited Spring Couplet and other novel designs.
Perhaps due to the higher cost of the corresponding design licensing, this year's couplet price is also ridiculously expensive. On social platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Weibo, many consumers have noticed the rapid rise in the price of Lianfu characters, and have posted articles expressing amazement: "A pair of couplets is hundreds of yuan? "Why can a few pieces of paper sell for thirty or fifty yuan?" "Couplets of tens of dollars are also too outrageous!" "Not only is it expensive but it's also out of stock, is it also engaged in hunger marketing for Lianfuzi..."
Xiaoba search found that on e-commerce platforms such as Taobao, an ordinary one-meter-long couplet product costs about 15-35 yuan; if there are hollowing, three-dimensional, flocking and other processes, the price of a pair is around 50 yuan; and the couplet plus doufang, window flower, Fuzi and other "New Year gift packages" sold together, a price of nearly one hundred yuan.
Many consumers said that in the past, they were all sent by the sticker unit, or went to the supermarket to shop, the bank did business to send, and now there are fewer places to give away, so they need to buy.
Some people believe that behind the "outrageous" price of couplets this year, it is the rise of raw material paper, and consumers pay more and more attention to style design, on top of the basic meaning of traditional auspicious and festive, they hope that their couplets have a sense of personalization and novelty.
In addition, some consumers have begun to buy their own pens, ink and paper and write couplets themselves. On Taobao, there are also some stores that sell customized versions of handwritten couplets, with prices ranging from tens of yuan to hundreds of yuan.
"Writing your own couplets is also a mood. On the whole, this year's price increase is inevitable. With the product patterns, the superposition of production processes and licensing costs, not only the couplet market, but also the annual goods market has different degrees of price increases. Chinese food industry analyst Zhu Danpeng said.
In fact, in 2022, as the Year of the Tiger in the Lunar Calendar, products related to "tiger" elements have long been hot in the consumer market. In the clothing industry, PEACEBIRD, ONLY, UR and other brands have launched tiger year clothing products, Dior, GUCCI and other big brands have also launched the year of the tiger series of clothing; in the jewelry industry, Chow Tai Fook, Chow Sang Sheng, Cai Bai and other gold brands have been listed Tiger Zodiac transport beads, Tiger Year pendants and other gold jewelry; and tiger pattern ornaments, household items, toys, mobile phone cases, etc. are also selling well, Bubble Mart's "Tiger Leap New Year" series of blind boxes sales have exceeded 8,000, the series of main models "Hongyun Dang" in the second-hand market single price has tripled The Blind Box of the Year of the Tiger of the Forbidden City is still in the pre-sale stage, and has sold more than 7,000 pieces of sales...
It seems that this year's Spring Festival "price increase and shortage of goods fly together", all kinds of traditional products, the Year of the Tiger linkage products to the Spring Festival to bring a lot of auspicious fun, but also appear product premium is obvious, tight supply and other characteristics. However, as a must-have new year product for the Spring Festival, even if the price has risen, every household must still post the word "right" Chinese New Year's Eve night.
Beijing Business Daily reporter Bai Yang Zhang Han comprehensive report
Image source: Taobao screenshot, reporter shooting