Generation Zs embrace 'experience economy'

In terms of love consumption, 43 percent of surveyed couples choose to take turns to pay, such as one pays for dinner while the other pays for milk teas; while 30 percent pay for themselves, and only 11 percent put their money together to spend.

According to the Workplace Human Laboratory report, 54 percent of post-00s spend 500 yuan to 1,000 yuan on love-related consumption per month, while those spending between 1,000 yuan and 2,000 yuan accounted for 21 percent.

In addition, the survey highlights that daily necessities of post-00s have already become high-tech, with smartphones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches and electric bicycles topping college students' most favored intelligent consumer goods.

"In the past, bicycles were a symbol of university life, but now, bicycles in universities are increasingly replaced by electric bicycles. For schools with large campus areas and scattered teaching buildings, electric bicycles are much more convenient and labor-saving," said the report of Workplace Human Laboratory.

"E-bicycles have wide usage scenarios in universities. Whether for getting to a morning class, going across campus for an event or inviting friends for an outing, e-bicycles are a nice choice. Young consumers are used to having intelligent products around them and e-bicycles belong to that category," said the spokesperson of the e-bicycle department of robotics technology company Segway-Ninebot.

In addition, the survey found that post-00s consumers are especially willing to pay for virtual services, with 71 percent paying for software memberships.

Data from Zhihu, a leading Q&A-inspired online content community in China, showed that by June, its monthly subscription users totaled 13.2 million, among which the largest proportion are users from Yanyan Story, a sub brand. Its user profile in 2022 showed that its post-00s users surpassed 70 percent.

"Young users are basically students and young office clerks, and their consumption on content demonstrated the characteristics of diversity, innovation and a reflection of emotion," said the spokesperson of Zhihu.

"More and more young people are willing to pay for knowledge and experiences. Lifelong learning has become a trend, and young people are willing to spend real money on high-quality content and services to meet different needs such as career advancement and hobbies.

"Technological innovations such as artificial intelligence have made the dissemination of knowledge more efficient. With the support of AI, we can train intelligent assistants in different professional fields, serving as learning tools, productivity tools and creative tools. This kind of intelligent product, which integrates data, algorithmic computing power and contextualized experiences, has subverted the form of knowledge dissemination to a certain extent, and is believed to create a larger knowledge payment model and market space," Zhihu said.

To target post-00s consumers, Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences suggested that they should understand their needs — on one hand, they should highlight the products' cost performance and practicability, and enhance user experience with technique advancement. On the other hand, they should pay attention to offering emotional values, such as developing customized products and creating immersive consumption scenarios.

"In the meantime, enterprises may take advantage of technologies such as AI and augmented reality to prioritize consumption procedure. Key opinion leaders and word of mouth may also help enhance influence. Furthermore, they may also embrace guochao (or China-chic), integrating traditional culture with modern design, and emphasizing the concept of sustainability, which conforms to the value of the post-00s generation," he said.

Liu Yang contributed to this story.