First coined in the 1980s, revenge buying was used to describe all of the “pent up demand for foreign products that had been denied [to China’s] citizens when the nation was closed off to the outside world”, according to Business of Fashion. However, the term has more recently been used across Chinese social media as a way to describe how ordinary citizens were dreaming of treating themselves once quarantine was lifted, as well as by those expressing disdain at unnecessary spending as the economy struggled. Reopening day could be a one-off or, as some brands and retailers may hope, just the beginning of restoring depleted coffers.