China’s Young Consumers Are Maturing Fast is the third in a four-part series examining three megatrends that are driving consumer spending in China.

The “young generation” in China, those born in the 1980s, ’90s and the first decade of the 2000s, are poised to become a dominant force in the country’s consumer market, according to management advisory firm Boston Consulting Group. In fact, the emergence of a more free-spending generation as a major consuming class is one of three megatrends BCG expects to drive a 55 percent expansion in China’s consumption spending over the next five years. BCG said that consumption within the under-35 set is growing at 14 percent annually, double that of their elders. Members of the young generation also outspend their parents and grandparents as well—by as much as 40 percent in many product categories. Over the next five years, their share of total consumption will reach 53 percent from its current level of 45 percent.

One other important to keep in mind when considering Chinese younger consumers is that they tend to be college educated and more sophisticated than other shoppers in the country. They also love their brands. According to BCG’s research, they tend to recognize more brands than their peers in the U.S., they often advocate for them either personally or online, and they form stronger emotional bonds with them.

To readotherinstallments inour series on the three trends driving China’s consumer economy through 2020, click hereand here.