High-end mooncake sales slumped ahead of Mid-Autumn: major-store sales fell 45.17% YoY and gift-box volumes dropped 49.04% YoY ahead of 2026 Mid-Autumn. Boxes priced above 500 yuan now account for under 2% of regular-channel sales; boxes above 1,000 yuan saw sales plunge 76% YoY. Five-star hotel mooncake boxes are appearing on secondary markets at roughly 30% of original price, often below 200 yuan. Resale listings show Shenzhen JW Marriott boxes (original 298–498 yuan) as low as 99 yuan; Chengd

High-end mooncake sales slumped ahead of Mid-Autumn: major-store sales fell 45.17% YoY and gift-box volumes dropped 49.04% YoY ahead of 2026 Mid-Autumn. Boxes priced above 500 yuan now account for under 2% of regular-channel sales; boxes above 1,000 yuan saw sales plunge 76% YoY. Five-star hotel mooncake boxes are appearing on secondary markets at roughly 30% of original price, often below 200 yuan. Resale listings show Shenzhen JW Marriott boxes (original 298–498 yuan) as low as 99 yuan; Chengdu W Hotel 258-yuan boxes at 149 yuan; Guangzhou Ritz-Carlton 388-yuan boxes at 110 yuan and 428-yuan 'exclusive' boxes at 228 yuan. China Chain Store & Franchise Association guest adviser Zhuang Shuai says the retreat of high-priced luxury gift boxes appears not to be a short-term cycle but an irreversible long-term trend driven by returning consumer rationality and gifting-regulation constraints.