Post-90s to be consumer trend bellwether for China

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01:05

The rising consumerism in China is cooling. And an economic slowdown is only part of the reason. The other side of the story is that the new adults in Chinese society are spending less but more wisely. The changes are more apparent among those who were born between 1990 and 1999, dubbed "post-90s."

The survey from Shanghai Securities Journal showed that more than half of post-90s have monthly incomes of between 3,000 to 8,000 yuan. Only 13 percent of those surveyed have incomes of more than 12,000 yuan. And about 30 percent of the post-90s always spend all of their income and don't save a penny.

Different from post-80s, post-90s prefer brands with high value for their money, according to research firm Talking Data. They are less addicted to mobile games and stay longer at home than going out. That means post-90s spent less on in-game purchases, but more on online shops.

But it doesn't mean they are not willing to spend. The weight of luxury products has been increasing. Research from T-Mall cited that post-90s contributed to 45 percent of luxury goods on the website last year. And the spending of those post-90s luxury buyers on all websites owned by Alibaba was 16 times of normal shoppers.

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“I think post-90s were born in the golden age where the Chinese economy has seen unprecedented growth,” said Wendy Huang, senior vice president and commercial director at Hilton Greater China and Mongolia.

As the country is shifting to a consumption-driven economy, Huang believed that post-90s are not “necessarily cutting down on spending,” and could express themselves associated with brands that they can identify themselves with.

“These post-90s are looking to be more self-expressive and spend more on luxury customized experiences. That's where we think people are going to start spending,” she added.

Moreover, post-90s are saving for the future. The Shanghai Securities Journal also reported that when it came to wealth management, 64 percent of post-90s preferred Internet finance services, such as Alibaba's yu'ebao. Meanwhile, 41 per cent invested in mutual funds, and 28 percent put money in the stock markets.