The Chinese Dream: Part 2 — The amplified me
The Chinese consumer landscape is shifting greatly, giving way to a rising movement that prioritises personal growth over conspicuous consumption. As a result of the growing economy, the Chinese are choosing to spend more of their disposable income on intangible goods. WPP’s latest Brand report shows the top 5 Chinese Brand categories that witnessed the most growth in 2017 are: Education (+68%), Travel (+57%), Home Appliances (50%), Retail (+47%), and Healthcare (+46%).
Chinese consumers are now aspiring towards a multidimensional identity, building a personal brand that balances career success with an amplified version of themselves through:
- Travel: A growing preference of spending on unique experiences over retail
- Wellness: Adopting a more well-rounded lifestyle through fitness and community involvement
- Education: Learning as a way to enrich experiences with other cultures

The Chinese Dream series continues into Part 2 with a discussion on the driving forces that are behind new Chinese consumer aspirations in pursuit of an amplified version of themselves — pulling away from looking outwards to materialistic goods, and instead looking inwards, through three distinct categories:
1 — Experiential Travel: China’s take on “I travel, therefore I am”
According to The Economist, China accounts for more than one fifth of money spent by outbound tourists globally. By 2021, it is predicted that Chinese tourists will spend US $429 billion abroad (CLSA), and they are only just getting started. Only around 5% of the 1.42 billion population have passports, and the Government is issuing around 10 million new passports every year (Bloomberg).
For Chinese consumers, experience is the definition of new luxury. Overseas spending has shifted from primarily shopping to high quality services and unique experiences. Hotels.com’s annual Chinese International Travel Monitor states that Chinese travellers’ average spending on Shopping dropped from 68% in 2016 to 35% in 2017. It is expected that spending on Entertainment and Dining will continue to rise as the new genre of 深度旅 (in-depth travel) continues to attract travellers interested in experiencing authentic personal interactions with local cultures.
Theme tours, eco tours, backpacking and luxury tours are on the rise with growing preference for independent travel rather than the standard group travel. Leading the way in how Chinese travellers are discovering, booking and experiencing these solo travels is Ctrip, China’s top travel services giant. In an interview with the company’s CEO Jane Sun, Ctrip’s custom tours booking increased 230% in the first half of 2018 compared to 2017. Having acquired Skyscanner in 2016 for US $1.6 Billion (Bloomberg), Ctrip is second in the world in market value (NASDAQ), and will continue to expand its portfolio both locally and internationally.
By acquiring and investing in travel agencies and partnerships, Ctrip is able to strategically position themselves in their unique offerings. Sharing a meal at a Swedish family’s home or a private market tour in Paris can now be arranged right at your fingertips.
The allure of an extravagant price tag is no longer the primary factor defining luxury. The focus is now on what value experiences can bring and how they can add to your personal brand.

2 — Health and Community: Embracing the 360 Degree lifestyle
Further expanding on the trend of Experiential Luxury, the emerging affluent middle class is starting to adopt a more multi-dimensional lifestyle. Mindsets are shifting from professional success being the sole status symbol to embracing a more holistic and well-rounded profile that is part of a community with common aspirations.
Gym and health-club revenue has nearly doubled in the past five years, and the industry is set to generate more than US $6.9 billion this year, says SCMP. To cater to different lifestyles and budgets, the fitness movement has trickled down from celebrity-frequented studios such as SpaceCycle, to Supermonkey’s 24-hour, self-service one person gym boxes.
On the road, China has been experiencing a marathon boom, hosting 1,102 registered running events in the country last year (The Telegraph). And despite the air pollution, nearly one million people run at Beijing’s Olympic Park every day.
Lululemon has also acquired a strong following since launching their first showroom in Shanghai in 2013. Now with 12 stores nationwide, they are experiencing triple digit growth rates in sales. Last year, their annual Unroll China festival attracted over 5000 participants to practice yoga together at Beijing’s Forbidden City. Chinese inherently come from very social communities, and Lululemon’s successful brand community approach almost feels like the evolved version of square dancing.
Adopting a well-balanced lifestyle is as much a status symbol as it is a progressive mindset that invests in becoming part of a multidimensional community.

3 — English First: Learning as a value-driven priority
For the second year in a row, China’s educational Brands brought the most rapid growth in value. The Chinese are now consuming knowledge like never before, and more specifically in the language learning category. According to a study by IDEO Shanghai, learning English is more than just for the purpose of better job opportunities, but to enhance their experience and connection with Western cultures.
Internationally, we have already witnessed a large influx of overseas Chinese students in the past decade. This growth shows no signs of slowing down, reaching an all-time high at nearly 610,000 (Xinhua) in 2017, an increase of 11.7% from the year before.
Domestically, there are currently 300 to 400 million English learners in China (The Hill). A significant contributor to this growth is the booming Chinese EdTech industry, which market value is expected to reach US$86 billion by 2022 (SCMP).
Three of the most prominent factors in the making of China’s EdTech market success are the ever-growing number of mobile users, becoming the world’s biggest gaming industry and the power of social media. With these ingredients combined, language learning apps have been designed not only for educational purposes, but also for entertainment and peer motivation. Being able to share your progress amongst your Wechat friends circle (朋友圈) keeps you accountable, whether it’s accruing points for the number of classes you’ve taken on Liulishuo, or how many chapters you’ve read today on Mint Reading.
Being part of a learning community is seen by the Chinese as a valuable asset to your personal brand, showing a hunger for self-improvement and even motivating friendly competition amongst peers.
Follow me for the final part of this series, where I’ll be talking more about China’s homegrown Talent.
Read my previous articles from The Chinese Dream series:
Introduction
Part 1: Building an online ecosystem on trust, community and inclusion
