The Catering Winter: The Underlying Reasons
In 2024, the catering industry ushered in a cold winter. More than 400,000 food and beverage outlets across the country closed their doors in the first half of the year, with the closure of snack bars and bubble tea shops being particularly prominent. Such a scene is not only embarrassing, but also reveals the profound changes in the economic structure. Although the epidemic is over, its impact is far from dissipating, but has accelerated the reshuffle of the catering industry. Gone are the booms of the past, replaced by a depression.
The cold winter of the catering industry is not only a continuation of the epidemic, but also the result of market saturation and involution. Decades of rapid development have pushed the mainland from the incremental market to the stock market, and the competition in all walks of life has become extremely fierce. The catering industry is bearing the brunt, and excessive competition has compressed profit margins, making it difficult for many restaurants to survive. As the most representative low-threshold industries, snack bars and bubble tea shops have become the most serious areas of involution. Every day a new store opens, but every day an old one closes, and it seems like an endless cycle.
Consumers' spending habits are also changing. Today's consumers are more focused on personalization and high-quality consumer experiences, and traditional food and beverage outlets are struggling to cope with this change. New catering models have sprung up, rapidly eroding the market share of traditional catering. Those catering brands that were once smash hits can now only fade away. The cold winter of the catering industry is not only the choice of the market, but also the necessity of the times.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. The intensification of the "lying flat" mentality of young people will have a more far-reaching impact on the economy. This phenomenon not only challenges traditional concepts, but also profoundly affects many fields such as real estate and family.
Young people "lie flat": a helpless choice under economic pressure
In 2024, the "lying flat" mentality among young people is spreading rapidly like a trend. More and more young people are choosing to give up their mortgages and car loans, and no longer think about getting married and having children. This is not only a reflection on the high-pressure lifestyle, but also a helpless resistance. Soaring housing prices and the soaring cost of living have left many young people feeling that their future is uncertain, and instead of struggling under enormous financial pressure, they simply choose to "lie flat" and live a simple and low-desire life.
This attitude to life poses an unprecedented challenge to conventional wisdom. In the past, buying a house, getting married, and having children were seen as a necessary part of life and a sign of success. More and more young people are questioning the significance of this traditional path to success. They believe that the existing economic system is no longer able to provide them with fair opportunities and a stable future. In the face of high housing prices and mounting debt, many people choose to "lie flat" as a way to express their dissatisfaction with the status quo and uncertainty about the future.
The economic impact of this mindset cannot be ignored. Young people do not buy houses, get married and have children, which directly affects the development of the real estate market and related industrial chains. The sluggish real estate market not only affects upstream and downstream industries such as construction and decoration, but also has a knock-on effect on the consumer goods market. Sales of home appliances, furniture and other industries have shrunk, and related services such as childcare and education have also been affected. What's more, the declining birth rate will put enormous pressure on the future labor market and social security system, further complicating the economic situation.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. The rampant behavior of speculative businessmen is precisely the root cause of the destruction of the market order, and these people use all kinds of means to obtain improper benefits and disrupt the normal order of the market.
Speculative businessmen run rampant: disruptors of market order
In today's Chinese market, there are only a handful of real entrepreneurs, while opportunistic businessmen are rampant. These speculative businessmen have obtained profits through various improper means, seriously disrupting the market order. They are not real creators, but "predators" who take advantage of policy loopholes and information asymmetry to grab benefits. Such behavior not only affects fair competition in the market, but also leads to the misallocation and waste of resources, making the already complex economic environment even worse.
Opportunism manifests itself in a variety of industries, but especially in education and children's development. Some businessmen have set their sights on the field of education, taking advantage of the psychology of parents who want their children to become successful and create false prosperity. All kinds of high-priced cram schools and training courses have emerged one after another, but their actual effects are often far from the publicity. Parents spend huge sums of money but fail to truly improve their children's quality and abilities. This phenomenon not only brings a heavy economic burden to families, but also makes the distribution of educational resources unbalanced in the whole society, causing deeper social problems.
To make matters worse, these speculations have led to a sharp decline in market trust. Consumers' and investors' trust in markets is the cornerstone of economic development, but the rampant speculative businessmen have undoubtedly shaken this foundation. The loss of market trust has worsened the investment environment, capital is afraid to enter the market easily, the financing cost of enterprises has risen, and the pace of economic development has slowed down. In the long run, the vitality and innovation capacity of the economy will be seriously affected, and a vicious circle will be trapped.
But that's not the end of the story. Although the rapid development of science and technology has brought new opportunities, it has also posed severe challenges to the existing economic order.
The widening gap between rich and poor: a challenge to social equity
In modern society, the widening gap between the rich and the poor has become a reality that cannot be ignored. The polarization of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer not only has a profound impact on economic development, but also poses a serious challenge to social fairness and justice. Behind the rapid economic development, the concentration of wealth is rising, making the distribution of resources in society more and more uneven. The wealthy have access to more opportunities and resources with the advantage of capital, while ordinary people are struggling under increasing economic pressures.
Through a simple calculation of the income and expenditure of an ordinary person's life, we can clearly see the dilemma that it is difficult for ordinary people to accumulate wealth in the current economic environment. For example, in a middle-income urban family, the total monthly income of the husband and wife is about 20,000 yuan. Mortgages, car loans, education, medical care and other expenses account for almost all of the income. Monthly mortgage payments account for a large portion of income, children's education costs are rising, and living expenses are bottomless. As a result, the average family has little money left over to save and invest, let alone accumulate wealth. Over time, the wealth gap has not narrowed, but has widened.
The widening gap between rich and poor has brought more factors of social instability. The uneven distribution of wealth has triggered widespread social discontent, with more and more people becoming suspicious and dissatisfied with the existing economic system and social structure. If this emotion is not effectively channeled and resolved, it may lead to more social problems, such as rising crime rates and increased social unrest. What is even more serious is that social instability will further affect the overall economic and social stability, forming a vicious circle.
The gap between rich and poor is just the tip of the iceberg. Although the rapid development of science and technology has injected new vitality into the economy, it has also brought new challenges.
Friends can discuss together, what do you think is the reason why money is hard to earn this year? Don't forget to pay attention, thank you!