North China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette, August 20, 1921, p.546

Notes

• Pays a (new?) special attention to consumers' buying habits, viewd as a barometer of the general economic situation. Recommends to study closely the retail trade especially in time of depression and workers' strikes. 
• Inquiry based on the empiral observations made by three managers of large retail establishments in Shanghai (not specified)
• Distinction between different groups of buyers, according to their nationalitiy (principally foreign and particularly Russian, Americans, Japanese), status (permanent/temporary or recent immigrant), or sex (especially women)
• Tendency to personify Shanghai or reify Shanghai consumers, but anxious to define what is meant by "Shanghai", namely: "the permanents residents". Assumes a sense of community. 
• Acknowledges the difficulties to compare the current situation of depression with ordinary times of prosperity)
• Problematic categorization of products: cosmetics and other "luxuries" such as face powder and perfume are categorized as "essentials" (daily use commodities?)