Olympic mascot craze shows consumption, growth linked

For me, one of the abiding memories of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games will be the amazing popularity of the mascot Bing Dwen Dwen.

The licensed online store selling Olympic souvenirs announced the presale of Bing Dwen Dwen keychains would kick off at 4 pm on Feb 9. I was determined to own the endearing mascot. So, I placed the order for some keychains by adding them to my shopping e-cart well in advance and waited eagerly for the critical moment to arrive so I could promptly click and pay.

As the big day arrived and the clock struck 4, I held my breath and tapped on the "pay" button on my smartphone screen in a jiffy, without wasting a nanosecond. Yet, wonder of wonders, the flash sale, it seemed, ended for me even before it began.