In its newest consumer-trends report, Alibaba Group’s Taobao Marketplace found that Chinese consumers are paying up to rid themselves of tedious, time-consuming tasks.
According to the report, consumers last year have spent RMB16 billion ($2.31 billion) on products that cater to the lazy, a 70% increase over the previous year. And the biggest portion of that growth was fueled by young shoppers born after 1995, a demographic that is a key source of growth for China’s consumption-driven economy today.
They are spending more on optional lifestyle goods than necessities, Taobao reported. Some top-trending products on the site include one-swipe eyeshadow palettes, a fuss-free instant hot pot, gamer chairs and smart home appliances, such as automated cooking machines and robotic window-cleaners.
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The needs of young Chinese seeking more convenience have expanded the market for new types of products and services, such as food-delivery, Alibaba’s data-intelligence firm CBNData said in a report earlier this month. Currently, from booking house-cleaning to doctor appointments, almost everything can be ordered on-demand and paid for digitally in major Chinese cities.
Consulting firm Bain & Co. in June forecast that those born in the 1990s will make up 15% of China’s population, while those born in the 2000s will represent 21%. It said this new generation of “digital little emperors,” having grown up in a period of technological advances and rapid improvements in quality of life, expect instant gratification and look for convenience, quality and variety.
The “post-1995” consumer base, especially, “can’t recall a time when what they wanted to buy was not available,” Accenture wrote in a June report.
See Taobao’s full infographic below: