Summary of Key Points
April’s national consumer data (total retail sales of consumer goods) showed a sluggish performance: the nationwide growth was only 0.2%, with urban retail sales turning negative, and Beijing experiencing a decline of 4.8%. People commonly attribute this to a lack of funds (due to factors such as the impact on car sales, plummeting sales of gold and jewelry, and low consumer confidence), but the article highlights a more critical issue: the disappearance of disposable leisure time. This applies to everyone, from freelancers to office workers, tech elites, and even those in the commercial real estate industry, who are all overwhelmed by work and thus have no time to shop or spend money. Moreover, the commercial real estate sector itself is struggling to create environments that would encourage people to spend time due to the excessive workload of its employees. The article concludes by calling for reduced overtime to give people more time to consume.
Detailed Analysis
#### 1. Poor retail sales data and the question of “where the money went”
After the release of April’s consumer data, industry insiders focused on explanations related to funding, such as a 15% drop in car sales (which dragged down the overall growth rate by one percentage point) and poor sales of gold and jewelry due to declining marriage rates, as well as consumers being more cautious with their spending (a decrease of 400 billion yuan in short-term loans). However, these explanations fail to address a crucial question: do people even have the time to spend money? After all, even if they have the money, without time to shop, dine out, or engage in leisure activities, consumption cannot increase. The article argues that the lack of time is the more hidden and fundamental issue.
#### 2. Freelancers: Working long hours for money, with no time to consume
A report from the Guangzhou Trade Union reveals:
- 75% of food delivery riders work 9–12 hours per day, and 20% work more than 12 hours;
- Delivery workers fare even worse, with 56% working over 12 hours per day, and only 8% working less than 8 hours;
- Nearly 60% of ride-hailing drivers work 9–12 hours; in the saturated Shenzhen market, they average only 13 orders per day (below the break-even point of 18 orders), meaning they need to work even longer to make a profit.
These workers earn a monthly salary of over 10,000 yuan (e.g., 117,000 yuan for delivery and 150,000 yuan for food delivery), but the trade-off is a lack of time for rest, let alone shopping. Other jobs, such as security guards (63% working within 8 hours per day), are less demanding but also pay less (typically 6,000–8,000 yuan), and come with significant pressure in Guangzhou—either they have to work long hours for money (with no time to consume) or earn less (and thus cannot afford to spend).
#### 3. The main consumer group: Office workers struggling to find time, and tech elites who don’t spend their earnings
Ordinary office workers will work an average of 48.6 hours per week in 2025 (half a day more than the legal limit of 44 hours), plus commuting times (8 million people nationwide commute for 90 minutes each way, and 28% in Beijing commute for over an hour). The remaining time on workdays is only about 2 hours before bed, which they spend on using their phones or ordering food delivery; going out to shopping malls is the most time-consuming option.
Tech elites, who hold most of the wealth in the tech industry, tend to work long hours after earning money. Their lifestyle is more sedentary and efficiency-driven, which does not align with the leisure-oriented atmosphere that shopping malls prefer. In contrast to the golden age of real estate, where developers would spend their profits on entertainment (drinking, clubbing, luxury goods), tech elites’ money rarely flows into consumer spending.
#### 4. The commercial real estate industry: Overworked and unable to create appealing shopping environments
Commercial real estate professionals (project managers, marketers, operators, etc.) are all working excessively, even state-owned enterprises are involved in this competition. The question arises: how can someone who has no time to shop design a mall that attracts people? They naturally focus on creating efficient access (e.g., quick store finding and checkout processes), rather than spaces that encourage leisurely browsing. For instance, if a mall is designed with elements that constantly urge customers to hurry up, visitors are unlikely to stay longer.
#### 5. A lesson from the past: Shortening working hours fosters consumption
In 1926, Henry Ford made a counterintuitive decision to reduce workers’ weekly working hours from 48 hours (6 days, 8 hours) to 40 hours (5 days, 8 hours) without lowering salaries. As a result, workers had both more time and money, which led to the widespread adoption of cars in ordinary households. Ford not only produced cars but also stimulated consumer demand.
It has been exactly 100 years since Ford’s reform, yet we are now relying on increased overtime to compensate for industry decline. The article urges commercial real estate professionals to reduce overtime, both for their own benefit and to enable people along the entire consumption chain to have time to visit malls again. After all, coupons may lower the barrier to spending, but they cannot replace an evening of free time.
Conclusion
The essence of consumption is having both money and time. If time is consumed by work, no amount of incentives will encourage people to spend money. Reducing overtime and allowing more time for leisure activities is the key to reversing this trend.