eMarketer research analyst Man-Chung Cheung discusses the latest on the coronavirus pandemic in China. He explores the role of big data in managing the crisis, points out signs of a retail rebound and considers takeaways for the US and Europe.

In a signal that it has flattened the curve, China reported zero new domestically transmitted cases of COVID-19 in the mainland last month, though that may slightly change as there have been cases brought back by overseas returnees. (Additionally, there is some speculation around the accuracy of these reports.) Editors Note: Since this article's original publication, one county in China has gone into total lockdown again amid fear of a second wave of COVID-19 cases.

Just months after the first case was reported, it is already clear that COVID-19 is having a negative impact on ad spending in China. In fact, we have lowered our outlook for China ad spending for 2020 and beyond.

We have downgraded our forecast for total and digital media ad spending in China, but are not making any other major adjustments to our worldwide estimates due to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak yet.