As a generation heavily exposed to the Western culture, young Chinese adults, typically aged 20-35, have little tolerance of a restrained lifestyle.
Interviews in 15 Chinese cities with 5,000 young adults showed their savings rate was nearly zero, reports The Bazette.
Specifically, they have three top focuses when it comes to shopping – quality, convenience and less necessity, which is the complete opposite of their parents, who went through the most difficult time in China’s history after 1949.
As a result, it’s not surprising to see young people wandering around shopping malls or online stores, splurging thousands of yuan on gadgets, cosmetics, bags and even imported organic foods every month.
The rising middle class is no doubt the major force to push China’s consumer revolution, but now, a rising percentage among them are young women. According to California-based research company Cheskin, Chinese young women, who have been seeing their annual income rising at a rate of 5%, are expressing themselves through fashion and the way they take care of themselves, including shopping for expensive skin care products, traveling overseas, and going to gyms. Media – magazines,radio and TV shows - is playing an important role in this transformation.
A vital reason for the changing spending attitude is the fast growing salary in urban areas. According to London-based Economist Intelligence Unit, annual income rose 8.7% from 2008 to RMB 17,175 (US$ 2,526) in 2009, compared with 5% in the U.S. in past decade.
However, foreign companies may want to turn to lower-tier cities for more opportunities as China has over 100 cities with populations of more than one million, suggested experts. Moreover, a growing number of educated young white collar migrant workers are planning to move to smaller cities as they can not afford the soaring housing prices in first -tier cities, where they work.
But wherever the companies are, appealing, innovative products are key to attract the young generation, suggested the consulting firm Deloitte in a report issued in late 2009. Internet, it says, is a useful tool for companies to get close to young consumers, most of whom access online everyday through either computers or mobile phones.
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