Professional housecleaning demand surges as Spring Festival approaches

BEIJING -- Orders for professional housecleaning services ahead of the upcoming Chinese New Year are rising as more consumers choose to trade money for time.

Data from China's leading online classifieds marketplace 58.com showed that orders for a comprehensive housecleaning jumped by 200 percent month on month during the first three weeks of January 2024 -- reaching the highest level since 2021.

A general and thorough cleanup of one's home is a major tradition on the agenda of Chinese people as they prepare to welcome the Spring Festival by dusting or discarding the old to embrace the new. It is also one of the most tiring tasks among lunar New Year traditions.

Demand for window cleaning and cleaning of the kitchen extractor fan has surged by around 300 percent and about 100 percent month on month, respectively, according to 58.com.

Beijing posted the strongest demand for housecleaning services among Chinese cities, followed by other first-tier cities including Shanghai and Shenzhen.

Geng Xinyu, head of 58.com's household services, attributed the growing demand for housecleaning services to China's burgeoning service sector, which is driven by the increasing affluence of consumers and the rise of the platform economy.

In 2023, China's service sector saw its added value account for 54.6 percent of the country's GDP, 1.2 percentage points higher than the previous year. Retail sales of services jumped by 20 percent year on year in 2023.