Facing a rapidly changing society and an uncertain reality, Gen Z is quietly recreating a sense of order in their lives by loving daily life, returning to the ordinary and actively expressing themselves. To resonate with behavioural shifts, brands can start by rebooting the rhythm of daily life, penetrating life radiuses and promoting emotional expression to integrate into the daily lives of Gen Z. Through small yet genuine touchpoints, brands can forge deeper and more meaningful connections.
Gloria Gan, Senior Analyst, China Insights
Market Definitions
For the purposes of this Report, Generation Z, or Gen Z, is defined as those born after 1995. Consumer data used for this Report is based on a sample of 18-29 year olds with a monthly household income of over RMB6,000 in Tier 1 cities or over RMB5,000 in Tier 2 or lower cities. It should be noted that the age of the Gen Z sample has slightly changed in different survey years, such as in the 2023 report where the age range was 18-27.
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Executive summary
- Key topics in this Report
- Definitions
- What you need to know
- Consumer profile
- The consumer
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Consumer profile
- The population of Gen Z is shrinking, and the traffic growth from the younger population is gradually receding
- Graph 1: % of Gen Z in population, 2020-25
- Graph 2: change in population structure, 2013-23
- With graduation season coinciding with policy transitions, Gen Z’s confidence is still affected by the uncertainty
- Graph 3: financial confidence – very/somewhat confident, by generation, 2022-25
- Graph 4: factors affecting Gen Z’s confidence, 2022-25
- Beyond stable jobs, Gen Z is starting online micro-entrepreneurship
- Graph 5: national urban youth unemployment rate for ages 16-24, 2020-25
- Graph 6: changes in Gen Z’s source of income, 2021-25
- Value hierarchy shifts: focus on interest in careers, focus on environment in everyday living
- Graph 7: Gen Z’s priorities, 2022-25
- With a priority on life experiences, Gen Z is increasing spending on home and travel
- Graph 8: attitude towards owning a property, by generation, in 2025
- Graph 9: categories that Gen Z has spent more on compared to last month – non-FMCG categories, 2022-25
- From a shelter to a spiritual plane, the meaning and value of home are being reconstructed
- From a standard to an option: marriage and raising children are no longer the default path for Gen Z
- Graph 10: changes in marriage rates, birth rates and gross domestic product growth, 2004-25
- Graph 11: proportion of unmarried people among people aged 20-29, 2000-20
- Define one’s identity by lifestyle and establish belonging through real feelings
- Graph 12: factors influencing Gen Z’s sense of identity, 2024 vs 2025
- Viewing the psychological imagery of Gen Z from trendy toy IPs: the coexistence of rebellion, healing and reality.
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The consumer
- Planned hedonistic consumption: self-indulgence in self-control
- About 70% of Gen Z live paycheck to paycheck, and Gen Z is awakening to budgeting awareness
- Graph 13: changes in spending habits, 2020 vs 2025
- Only 8% of Gen Z truly can save and spend wisely, but they are the savviest consumers
- Graph 14: age structure, by segmentation of consumption habit, 2025
- Graph 15: segmentation of consumer habits, 2025
- Lack of planning does not equal impulsiveness; Gen Z remains rational and restrained on highly interactive platforms
- Graph 16: changes in selected consumer behaviours, by segmentation of consumption habits, 2025
- Graph 17: selected changes in consumer behaviours, 2020 vs 2025
- Love technology, keep options open and switch effortlessly between trading up and brands
- Graph 18: Gen Z’s brand loyalty and willingness to trade up, 2025
- Gen Z associates home appliances with emotions and self-expression, giving rise to a new medium for showcasing personal style
- Graph 19: selected important factors when purchasing kitchen appliances – selected, by generation, 2024
- Leverage the investment in form to stimulate Gen Z’s emotional connection to home life
- Experience is all: Gen Z adopts a planned indulgence pleasure strategy in their life experiences
- A seeming consumption downgrade behind the trendy toy hype: slowed income growth drives micro-luxury emotional consumption
- Emotional spending can also be paid in instalments
- Rational socialising and emotional connection: being intimately independent
- Disenchanted with gurus, Gen Z turn to acquaintances: experts and bloggers influence no more than 30% of consumers
- Graph 20: decision-making influencers, by aspects of life, 2025
- Women are more independent in their decision-making when buying homes and cars, and value their control
- Graph 21: Gen Z’s indicators of a successful life, selected criteria, by gender, 2023-25
- Graph 22: decision-making influencers across various aspects of life – car/real estate purchase, by gender, 2025
- Behind the beauty economy, Post-2000s women face peer pressure, while Post-2000s men’s individuality awakens
- Graph 23: decision-making influencers in body and appearance management (a), by gender and generation, 2025
- Graph 24: decision-making influencers in fashion styles, by gender and generation, 2025
- Post-2000s men focus on expressing their attitude through their outfits, while Post-1995s men pay attention to social identity symbols
- Graph 25: male consumers’ attitudes towards fashion – agreement, by generation, 2024
- Graph 26: celebrity fashion tastes approved by male consumers, by generation, 2024
- A new force in men’s fashion: stand out with diverse expressions
- The importance of defying the crowd often surpasses the sense of belonging to a group, except for slow-paced activities
- Graph 27: motivating factors for participating in various activities*, 2025
- Graph 28: the importance of gaining a sense of uniqueness compared to the sense of belonging to a circle in various activities **, 2025
- A brand-new social scene is hidden in the slow-paced life and mindful communal activities
- From digital isolation to interpersonal reconnection, Gen Z rebuilds ‘the nearby’ in the era of light social interaction
- Graph 29: social interactions to spend more time on, by generation, 2025
- Graph 30: social life, by generation, 2025
- Activity buddies are an emotional entry point for burden-free connections, and neighbourhoods are the long-term focus of life
- Anxieties about the reality and inner harmony: search for the ideal world in everyday life
- Material anxiety and spiritual longing compel Gen Z to turn their attention to controlled self-improvement
- Graph 31: average scores of satisfaction and willingness to enhance/improve in various aspects of life, 2025
- Post-2000s want to seize the day; Post-1995s tune into laid-backness
- Graph 32: willingness to enhance or improve in various aspects of life, by generation, 2025
- Interest is both an outlet for the mind and a bridge to the real world and the self
- Graph 33: changes brought by hobbies and interests in Gen Z’s perception, 2024
- Graph 34: respondents who have cultivated their hobbies more than the previous year, by generation, 2024 vs 2025
- Seeking stability is not equivalent to giving up: Gen Z seeks to make their careers an extension of their interests
- Graph 35: attitudes towards work – radical vs laid-back, 2025
- Graph 36: attitudes towards work – career choice, by work preferences, 2025
- Enriching one’s inner life is not just empty talk, but seeking inspiration in everyday experiences
- Graph 37: drivers for participating in selected experiential activities, 2025
- Graph 38: participated activities, by demand for a rich inner life, 2025
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Issues and Insights
- Seize the day: Gen Z’s ‘ordinary’ aspirations
- Instead of chasing external achievements, Gen Z aspire to light up their inner world
- Gen Z’s ambition: the initiative to ignite passion in the limited reality
- Moments when Gen Z discover their passion for life
- Using home as the starting point, help Gen Z build their new lives in familiar spaces
- Echo Gen Z’s spirit of the art of living with everyday details
- Use whimsical ideas to build emotional resilience in daily life
- Be ordinary, not extraordinary to connect with Gen Z
- Build spaces for micro-resonance within their reach
- The attention to ‘the nearby’ is becoming one of the emotional focuses for Gen Z in China
- Graph 39: the proportion of 18-24 year-old consumers agreeing ‘it is important for me to have the support of a community’ – strongly agree/agree, 2025
- Creating deviation in familiar domains allows the nearby to be rediscovered
- Within a limited daily radius, embark on infinite new ideas with mini-expeditions
- Urban public spaces are making a comeback and creating a mixed lifestyle ecology
- Look further and closer: ways brands can create resonance with Gen Z
- Shift in expression from attention to affirmation
- Chinese Gen Z has the strongest desire to express themselves
- Build co-creation interfaces to provide Gen Z with a conversational space to confirm ‘who I am’
- Hands-on events speak to the heart: using concrete creations to combat the unknown and reclaim tangible feelings of life
- Let the brand become a carrier of attitude, an agent for expressing the emotions and voices of Gen Z
- The pathway for brands to deepen communication with Gen Z involves not only output but also co-creation
- What we think
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Appendix – methodology and abbreviations
- Methodology
- Abbreviations
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