Dropping birth figures in China are changing the country’s consumer market profoundly, as singles move upwards in spending patterns, says consumer analyst Ashley Dudarenok, author of Innovation Factory: China’s Digital Playbook For Global Brands at CNN. “We need to start thinking about single living and this new economic model as something that is here to stay,” she said.
CNN:
Consumer analysts say singles are also spending more on video games, AI companions and micro-dramas, soap opera-like shows with episodes under two minutes.
“When you’re back home from work and it’s 10 p.m. and you’ve already eaten, if you had a husband or wife, you would talk to them,” said Ashley Dudarenok, founder of China market consultancy ChoZan.
“If that companionship is missing, you are left with subscriptions to games, to streaming, and that is a huge, huge trend that is reshaping the way people entertain themselves.”
Dudarenok said that China’s vast and competitive consumer market could accelerate the development of products and services for people living alone and eventually export them to the rest of the world.
AI companions and micro-dramas have already gained traction in the US. Companies there are also increasingly courting solo diners. Domino’s Pizza announced recently it would begin offering small rectangular pies designed for one.
Previously, businesses and governments typically treated singledom as a temporary stage before marriage, Dudarenok points out.
“We need to start thinking about single living and this new economic model as something that is here to stay,” she said.
Ashley Dudarenok is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.
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