This report looks at the following areas:
- Types of hobbies and interests and demographic profiles
- Awareness and preferences of consumers by types of hobbies and interests
- Consumers’ participation and engagement levels in hobbies and interests
- Online and offline sources of influence
- Changes brought by hobbies and interests
- Preferences for cross-category/collaborative elements of hobbies and interests
- Consumer favourability towards brand marketing campaigns
To broaden their appeal through interest marketing and reach their target audience effectively, brands should tailor their approaches to either lower participation barriers or enhance professionalism depending on the characteristics of different interest groups.
Gloria Gan, Senior Analyst, China Insights
Market Definitions
This report covers 3,000 internet users aged 18-59 who have ongoing hobbies and interests, aiming to explore the differences and commonalities among hobby and interest groups. The report investigates how brands can market to consumers with different hobbies and interests, covering topics such as awareness and preferences, sources of influence, merchandise consumption and brand marketing activity preferences.
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Executive summary
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Definition
- What you need to know
- The market
- Consumers are exploring a wider variety of hobbies and interests, moving towards diversified development
- Graph 1: changes in hobbies and interests, by generation, 2024
- Marketing activity trends
- New product trends
- The consumer
- Gender differences are minimal aside from sports/esports
- Graph 2: types of hobbies and interests, by gender, 2024
- Gender differences are minimal aside from sports/esports
- Consumers flaunt their personalities through hobbies while expecting more creative and professional events
- Sports emphasise community connection, arts prefer knowledge exploration
- Graph 3: engagement and involvement level, by hobby and interest type, 2024
- The influence of short video platform bloggers far exceeds other channels
- Graph 4: sources of influences in interest circles, by interest community type, 2024
- Chinese consumers nurture their souls through interests, while UK consumers sharpen their minds with hobbies
- Graph 5: changes brought by hobbies and interests, compared to the UK, 2024
- Chinese consumers nurture their souls through interests, while UK consumers sharpen their minds with hobbies
- Preferences for hobby-related product categories vary with hobbies
- Graph 6: merchandise-related spending, by hobby and interest type, 2024
- Creative elements are the key to enhancing brand favourability in marketing activities
- Graph 7: favourability stemmed from brand marketing activities, by hobby and interest types, 2024
- Creative elements are the key to enhancing brand favourability in marketing activities
- Issues and insights
- What we think
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The Market
- Market factors
- An expanding spectrum of interests
- Graph 8: changes in hobbies and interests, by generation, 2024
- Sports are no longer synonymous with difficulty and monotony but have become a new vista
- Graph 9: participation in emerging outdoor/sports activities – "have participated in it", 2024
- Graph 10: changes in types of sports participation, 2020-24
- In the fast-paced work and life, slow down with handcrafts
- Graph 11: number of 'handmade DIY/DIY' (手工DIY/DIY) mentions on social media*, 2022-24
- Self-expression and cultural confidence continue to stimulate the guochao trend
- Graph 12: 'hanfu' and 'mamian skirts' mentions on social media*, 2022-24
- The steadily growing blind box economy provides emotional value
- Graph 13: Pop Mart revenue and number of offline stores trend, 2017-23
- Explosive growth in performances: the revival of live entertainment consumption
- Technology spices up immersive and interactive arts and culture experiences, sparking a cultural tourism boom
- Marketing activities
- Hosting festivals/competitions in sports social marketing to boost the social atmosphere of sports
- Collaboration in performances goes beyond co-branding: enhance the immersive experience through product placement
- New Chinese style marketing incorporates intangible cultural heritage handcraft experiences to attract the novices
- New forms of arts-meet-technology interactive marketing
- Attract consumer attention through brand/product stories in short drama series
- New product trends
- Homestays/hotels fuse with hobby and interest themes, transforming accommodation experience into an unforgettable expedition
- Riding the wave of cultural tourism: innovate with timeless designs and link with cultural elements
- When aesthetics meet functionality: upgrade homes to luxurious art galleries
- Explore the possibilities of DIY customisation: new fashion innovations
- Product design cleverly borrows inspiration from films/games, facilitating association, recall and resonance
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The Consumer
- Types of hobbies and interests
- Gender differences in hobbies other than sports/esports are minimal
- Graph 14: types of hobbies and interests, by gender, 2024
- Sports hobbyists have multiple interests, while creative ones are the most dedicated to their field
- Graph 15: overlap of types of interests, by type of hobbies and interests, 2024
- Performances/shows and arts and culture are on trend in culturally rich Tier 1 cities
- Graph 16: profiles of hobby and interest groups, by city tier, 2024
- Performance and guochao/traditional style hobbies are noticeably loved by younger demographics
- Graph 17: profiles of hobby and interest groups, by generation, 2024
- Awareness and preferences
- Brands and influencers have the greatest influence on the guochao/ACG circles
- Graph 18: preference for brand activity and creativity, by hobby and interest type, 2024
- Graph 19: preference for type of influencer, by hobby and interest type, 2024
- Sports require the least level of professionalism for participation, while arts have relatively higher thresholds
- Graph 20: perception of jargon and terminology related to hobbies and interests, by hobby and interest type, 2024
- Graph 21: perception of activities related to hobbies and interests, by hobby and interest type, 2024
- Exhibiting hobbies and interests to seek identity recognition is important for all hobby and interest circles
- Graph 22: preference for exhibiting hobbies and interests, by hobby and interest type, 2024
- Graph 23: preference for exploring, learning and sense of recognition/belonging, by hobby and interest type, 2024
- Participation and level of engagement
- Sports focus on community connections, art hobbies on knowledge exploration
- Graph 24: participation and engagement level, by hobby and interest type, 2024
- Sports and performances/shows hobbies become popular social topics among post-1990s
- Graph 25: participation and engagement level – "frequently share information/advice related to the field with friends", by hobby and interest type and generation, 2024
- Graph 26: participation and engagement level – "have shared experiences of attended events related to the field on social media", by hobby and interest type and generation, 2024
- Anime and manga culture/Guochao/Chinese traditional styles have become new consumption hotspots in Tier 1 and lower tier cities
- Graph 27: participation and engagement level – "willing to spend money on products/activities related to the field", by hobby and interest type and city tier, 2024
- Graph 28: participation and engagement level – "frequently purchase peripheral products related to the field", by hobby and interest type and generation, 2024
- Sources of online and offline influence
- Short video platform influencers lead by a wide margin
- Graph 29: influencers in interest circles, by interest circle, 2024
- Due to their upbringing, post-1990s are still loyal users of long videos
- Graph 30: online and offline sources of influence, by generation and hobby and interest type, 2024
- In Tier 2 cities, the influence of acquaintances surpasses social media bloggers in hobbies related to humanities and sports
- Graph 31: online and offline sources of influence, by city tier and hobby and interest type, 2024
- eCommerce leads DIY trends in lower tier cities thanks to interactive forms such as live streaming
- Graph 32: online and offline sources of influence – "KOLs on comprehensive ecommerce platforms", by city tier and hobby and interest type, 2024
- Changes brought by interests and hobbies
- Chinese consumers nurture their souls through interests, while UK consumers sharpen their minds with hobbies
- Graph 33: changes brought by hobbies and interests, compared to the UK, 2024
- Sports-related hobbies are more effective in improving social life
- Graph 34: changes brought by hobbies and interests, by whether they are sports/esports or arts and cultures hobbyists, 2024
- Humanities and arts enthusiasts view their hobbies as a source of positive energy in life
- Graph 35: changes brought by hobbies and interests, by hobby and interest type, 2024
- Merchandise-related spending
- Guochao enthusiasts who spend more on merchandise have a greater need for external expression
- Graph 36: merchandise-related spending, by hobby and interest type, 2024
- Everyday sports style has become a popular fashion element among post-1990s generation
- Graph 37: merchandise-related spending, by generation, 2024
- DIY enthusiasts in lower tier cities prefer customisable FMCG crossover products
- Graph 38: DIY/modifications/content creation merchandise-related spending, by city tier, 2024
- In terms of guochao merchandise, post-1990s exhibit their interests, and Gen Z decorates their homes
- Graph 39: anime and manga culture/Guochao/Chinese traditional styles merchandise-related spending, by generation, 2024
- Brand marketing activity favourability
- The key to improving brand favourability in marketing is creative elements
- Graph 40: favourability stemming from brand marketing activities, by hobby and interest types, 2024
- Regardless of interest types, post-1990s consumers particularly favour immersive experiences
- Graph 41: favourability stemming from immersive/theatre brand marketing activities, by hobby and interest types and generation, 2024
- Cultural-themed marketing represented by guochao and IP collaboration has more potential in Tier 2 city markets
- Graph 42: favourability stemming from guochao/IP collaboration brand marketing activities, by hobby and interest type and city tier, 2024
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Issues and insights
- Integrate sports and socialisation: happiness matters more than victory
- Relevant to me: promote and prioritise sports for all
- Provide a stage for everyman hobbyists' passion
- Don't be superficial – strengthen the professional image of brand culture
- Collaborate with scholars for endorsement: knowledge-based marketing has a greater flair
- Museum-style stores: use exhibitions and celebrity lectures to reinforce the brand's professional label
- Creativity without limits: explore co-creation with users
- Environmental co-creation: shaping 'my' wishes for sustainable development
- DIY experiences: breaking free from constraints to create what "I" want
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Appendix – methodology and abbreviations
- Methodology
- Abbreviations
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