Weekly News Wrap: Asian vendors hawk wares in social media; China's consumption remains robust

And robot clocks in for Japan’s convenience stores.

From Bloomberg:

Bangkok’s sprawling open-air Chatuchak market is a shadow of its former self. Some locals still venture there for essentials, but the famed shopping complex, which normally sells everything from rattan place mats to street fashion, is largely deserted.

Yet many mom and pop retailers, robbed of their market income, haven’t given up. Instead, they’ve turned to social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to hawk their wares. A similar trend is unfolding in Indonesia and the Philippines, where outdoor markets and street vendors are also common and traditional retail has been upended by Covid-19.

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From CNBC:

The purchasing power of the Chinese consumer remains relatively robust but uncertainty from the coronavirus pandemic still lingers, according to Tai Hui, Asia chief market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management.

China may have missed analysts’ expectations in June’s retail sales numbers, but Chinese consumers “are still in reasonably good shape,” Hui told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Friday. However, “I think it’s the consumer sentiment that’s been impacted by for example, the very brief outbreak in Beijing last month,” he said.

A key issue remains over whether Chinese citizens are “feeling more comfortable” to travel domestically again, Hui said, pointing to increased chatter surrounding topics such as summer holiday bookings for Chinese tourists domestically.

“We’re gonna see a little bit more signs of recovery in the consumer sector in the third quarter,” particularly when some of the worst hit sectors and services “come back online,” Hui said.

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From Reuters:

In August, a robot vaguely resembling a kangaroo will begin stacking sandwiches, drinks and ready meals on shelves at a Japanese convenience store in a test its maker hopes will help trigger a wave of retail automation.

Following that trial, store operator FamilyMart says it plans to use robot workers at 20 stores around Tokyo by 2022. At first, people will operate them remotely - until the machines’ artificial intelligence (AI) can learn to mimic human movements. Rival convenience store chain Lawson is deploying its first robot in September, according to the maker.

Although robots can outperform humans in manufacturing plants built around them, they struggle with simple tasks in more unpredictable urban settings. Solving that performance problem could help businesses in industrialised nations, particularly those in rapidly ageing Japan, cope with fewer workers.

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