Report finds only 13 percent of young consumers in China are not in debt

A report on the consumption behavior of young people in China has found that the younger generation of Chinese consumers, primarily people aged between 18 and 32 years old, has jumped forcefully onto the consumption wagon.

Customers choose products at a duty-free shopping mall in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 2, 2021.(Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

By the end of 2021, consumers under the age of 35 are expected to contribute 65 percent to the overall consumption growth in China. Buying now and paying later has become a way of life for young consumers, according to a report jointly released by Bank of China Consumer Finance and Datagoo, a data platform under Time Media Group, based in Guangzhou.

Nearly half of all young consumers who are in debt were born in the 1990s, while 31.5 percent of young consumers in debt were born in the 1980s. The statistics also suggest that only 13.4 percent of the 175 million people born in the 1990s are not currently in debt.

The report also found that in addition to having different consumption behavior, the younger generation is more willing to spend so that they get a better consumer experience and live a high-quality life with better products.

So, how are members of the younger generation spending their money? According to the report, young people are opting to spend lavishly on the following products and services.

Over the past three years, the amount of money spent by young consumers on time-saving and labor-saving products and services, such as shoe washing machines, breakfast makers, and egg boilers, increased year by year. In November 2020, a peak season for shopping in China, such products were searched for 300,000 times on e-commerce platforms, an increase of 200 percent from the same period in the previous year.

People born during the 1990s account for half of all pet owners in China, statistics show. Over the past year, consumers born after 1990, and after 1995, contributed 40 percent to pet-related spending. The amount of money spent by pet owners born after 1995 grew exponentially for three years in a row.

As young people are becoming increasingly health-conscious, they opt to spend more money on healthcare products. It is estimated that in 2021, young people are likely to spend 7.5 percent more on products that help them to maintain their health. In addition, young people are also interested in, and frequently buy, beauty products and entertainment products.