The Xiang'eqing case, despite being a small example, reflects the tremendous pressure China's high-end catering and service sectors are under. The high-end products' market has lost its sheen also because of the slowdown in China's economic growth and the weak expectations of a considerable rise in people's incomes.

Because of central authorities' vow to curb the unreasonable income growth among top managers of monopolistic enterprises, the income growth of State-owned banks' employees have reportedly declined. The guidelines on employees' incomes issued by 23 provincial-level governments recently too signify a tangible decline in income growth compared with previous years. For instance, Guangdong province's baseline for income growth in 2014 is set at 9 percent, 1.5 percentage points lower than last year. And this declining growth in income has dampened people's enthusiasm for consumption, including during the Christmas season.

Chinese people love festivals and are known to splurge during holidays. But for most of them traditional festivals such the Lunar New Year are still the most important occasions for shopping. Besides, market campaigns to prompt people to loosen their purse strings during other Chinese and Western festivals have been blurring the line between important and not-so-important festivals.

In times when Chinese people are lured into spending during an increasing number of Western festivals — from Christmas and Halloween to Valentine's Day and Thanksgiving — as well as new Chinese shopping days such as the "Single's Day" or "Double 11" (Nov 11), how many can be expected to open their wallets on all the occasions? Being pragmatic, Chinese people are gradually realizing the folly of being compulsive consumers.

The author is a senior writer with China Daily. wuyixue@chinadaily.com.cn