Recently, it has been reported by an industry insider in China who deals with second-hand kitchen equipment that the business for equipment like food carts and display cabinets used for street vending has unexpectedly boomed, with sales skyrocketing. As the economy declines, industries shrink, job opportunities become scarce, and many people have resorted to setting up street stalls to make a living.
According to a report from “Restaurant Owner Insider” under Beijing Watt New Media Technology Co., Ltd. on June 4th, in recent times, several cities across China including Ningbo, Zibo, and Xishuangbanna have started allowing people to set up street stalls, which is a departure from the norm. Even major first-tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai have joined in, with Beijing’s Longfu Market opening night markets and Shanghai’s Hongkou, Huangpu, Xuhui districts sequentially introducing outdoor vending policies.
A man named Gou who specializes in the recycling and trading of second-hand kitchen equipment in Beijing revealed, “Looking at the surrounding areas of Beijing, in the first two to three months of last year, there were around 20 inquiries about street vending equipment on average every day, mainly regarding equipment such as food carts, display cabinets, steam buns cookers, noodle boilers, etc. The sales of street cart equipment surged by 600%. This year, there are about 13 to 15 inquiries per day. However, since last year, people who bought street vending equipment have basically not contacted us for recycling. Therefore, from the net increase in inquiries this year, it appears that a new batch of vendors will be added.”
The vendors come from diverse backgrounds: many are people who were laid off and couldn’t find jobs, some are individuals whose businesses failed, and there are also restaurant owners and chefs from various industries or those running physical dining establishments.
The report indicates that with an increasing number of vendors, the industry is also experiencing saturation, making street vending a tough and laborious small business for ordinary people.
The main reason so many people are turning to street vending to make a living is due to the challenging job market in the current economic context. According to the “China Purchasing Managers Index Operating Conditions in May 2026” released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the employee index in May this year was 45.6%, falling within the contraction zone below 50. The purchasing manager indexes for medium and small-sized enterprises were 48.6% and 48.5% respectively, a decrease of 1.9 and 1.6 percentage points from the previous month, both falling below the contraction zone below 50, indicating that Chinese enterprises are still facing difficulties with poor business operation conditions, hence, are not hiring new employees.
Some netizens discussed the issue of youth unemployment in China on overseas forums, pointing out that a vicious cycle is forming due to weak consumption and employment pressure: companies reduce hiring due to insufficient demand, young people reduce spending due to declining income and job prospects, further dragging down the consumer market.