This report looks at the following areas:
- Consumers’ attitudes and preferences towards ideal social interactions
- Monthly expenditure on socialising with friends
- Types of closest friends
- Social activities with different types of friends
- Trends in gift-giving preferences
- Types of products purchased due to friends’ recommendations
- Marketing activity favourability and shareability
In the complex social landscape, brands can create a new social ecosystem of inclusivity by focusing on diversity and integration, using commonalities as bonds and technology as the impetus to overcome barriers of age and gender.
Gloria Gan, Senior Analyst, China Insights
Market Definitions
This Report covers 3,000 internet users aged 18-59, aiming to explore consumers’ lifestyles related to and attitudes towards social life and their favourability towards brand marketing and willingness to share relevant content. By discussing how brands can carry out marketing targeting social life, the Report studies topics including social attitudes, expenditure on socialising, the structure of consumers’ social networks and corresponding social activities, product category preferences in gift-giving scenarios and types of products purchased due to friends’ recommendations.
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Executive summary
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Definition
- What you need to know
- The market
- A constant flow of new types of social relationships amidst the steady increase in overall social satisfaction
- Graph 1: satisfaction with social activities, 2022-23
- Marketing trends
- New product trends
- The consumer
- Most consumers have no intention of reducing social expenditure but want to cut down ineffective social interactions
- Graph 2: attitudes towards ideal social interactions, 2024
- Most consumers have no intention of reducing social expenditure but want to cut ineffective social interactions
- The post-1960s group faces social disconnection, and their resocialisation deserves attention
- Graph 3: average monthly social expenditure (in RMB), by generation, 2024
- Graph 4: monthly social expenditure, by generation, 2024
- The post-1960s group faces social disconnection, their resocialisation deserves attention
- 60% of respondents met their best friends at school, 30% in informal societal settings and only 10% at workplace
- Graph 5: type of best friends, by generation, 2024
- Dining out, sharing and group buying reach the widest range of social circles
- Graph 6: social activities with different types of friends, 2024
- The expression of thoughtfulness in gifting is shifting towards experiential value
- Graph 7: changes in gift-giving preferences, 2024
- The expression of thoughtfulness in gifting is shifting towards experiential value
- Novelty and discounts are common consumption motivations regardless of gender
- Graph 8: products purchased because of friends’ recommendations, by gender, 2024
- Sports and fitness marketing activities transcend gender boundaries
- Graph 9: favourability and shareability of marketing campaigns, by gender, 2024
- Sports and fitness marketing activities transcend gender boundaries
- Issues and insights
- What we think
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The Market
- Market factors
- New types of social relationships are constantly emerging, while overall social satisfaction is further improving
- Graph 10: satisfaction with social activities, 2022-23
- Offline socialising is thriving and participation in in-person events is on the rise
- Graph 11: out-of-home activity trends, 2021-24
- Competitive environment remains challenging, and the importance of personal networks continues to grow
- Graph 12: definition of success, 2020-24
- Younger people drive free exploration of social boundaries and depths
- Graph 13: 'youth break away from their relatives (年轻人断亲)/cutting ties trend (断亲潮)' interaction volume on social media*, 2022-24
- Graph 14: 'buddy (搭子)/looking for buddies (找搭子)' interaction volume on social media*, 2022-24
- Social tags become a positive tool for younger people’s self-expression and social interaction
- Technology is reshaping the spectrum of future virtual social relationships
- Marketing activities
- The year of sports: offline sports events pump up 'active' socialising
- Outdoor art installations create hubs for social media check-ins
- Create common topics to connect strangers in friendly socialising
- Social attribute business cards can serve as a consumption guide, making consumers feel understood
- Co-creation experiences and social media interaction create playful interactions between brands and their fans
- New product trends
- Emoji art unlocks social engagement
- Fully customisable gift boxes make gifts more heartfelt
- Tea and liquor crossover handles diverse social interactions with ease
- Flavour partners inject new inspiration into product innovation
- AI pet companions become new outdoor social playmates for younger people
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The consumer
- Attitudes towards ideal social interactions
- Most consumers will not reduce social spending but hope to reduce ineffective socialising
- Graph 15: attitudes towards ideal social interactions, 2024
- Gen Z embraces stranger social interactions and lite socialising, giving rise to the buddy culture
- Graph 16: attitude towards lite socialising, by generation, 2024
- Gen Z in Tier 2 and 3 cities are more flexible and pragmatic in their social attitudes
- Graph 17: attitude towards flexible social interactions, by generation and city tier, 2024
- Monthly social expenditure
- Social consumption drop-off among the post-1960s, and the lack of resocialisation pathways needs addressing
- Graph 18: average monthly social expenditure (in RMB), by generation and region, 2024
- Graph 19: monthly social expenditure, by generation, 2024
- The potential of women's social consumption should not be underestimated
- Graph 20: average monthly social expenditure (in RMB), by gender and generation, 2024
- Graph 21: monthly social expenditure, by gender and generation, 2024
- The social expenditures of business owners and company employees are higher than other professions
- Graph 22: average monthly social expenditure (in RMB), by employment, 2024
- Graph 23: monthly social expenditure, by employment, 2024
- Types of closest friends
- The 'golden ratio' of intimate friendships: 60% from student days, 30% from social circles and only 10% from work relationships
- Graph 24: types of best friends, by generation, 2024
- Hobby-based socialising is more popular among post-1990s in lower tier cities
- Graph 25: types of best friends, by city tier and generation, 2024
- Friends of business owners, professionals and government officers mostly come from everyday life circles
- Graph 26: types of best friends, by employment, 2024
- Social activities with different types of friends
- Dining out, sharing and group buying cross the boundaries of friend circles
- Graph 27: social activities with different types of friends, 2024
- Post-1990s and post-1980s dine out with others mainly for work relationship, but have meals at home mostly with childhood friends
- Graph 28: dining out with work friends, 2024
- Graph 29: home dining with childhood friends, 2024
- Women spend more on gifts than men overall, and delivery surpasses face-to-face gifting
- Graph 30: giving gifts to childhood friends, by gender and social expenditure, 2024
- Graph 31: giving gifts to work friends, by gender and social expenditure, 2024
- Changes in preferences in gift selection
- Future gift-giving will focus more on experiential value as an expression of thoughtfulness
- Graph 32: changes in preferences in gift selection, 2024
- Gen Z is all about what's trendy in gifts, while post-1990s prioritise practicality
- Graph 33: changes in gifting preferences – increasingly favoured gifting choices, by generation, 2024
- The social attributes of premium BPC products are worth noting
- Graph 34: considering more gifting in the future – personal care and beauty products (by gender and social spending), 2024
- Graph 35: considering more gifting in the future – electronic products (by gender and social spending), 2024
- Types of products purchased due to friends' recommendations
- Novelty and discounts are common purchase motivators for both men and women when considering a recommendation
- Graph 36: types of products purchased due to friends' recommendations, by gender, 2024
- In electronic products and home appliances, lower tier city consumers are more receptive to recommendations from friends
- Graph 37: types of products purchased due to friends' recommendations, by city tier, 2024
- High-end experiences highlight taste and sophistication and are more favoured in workplace relationships
- Graph 38: types of products purchased due to friends' recommendations, by type of best friends, 2024
- Marketing activity favourability and shareability
- Sports and fitness marketing campaigns appeal to both genders
- Graph 39: marketing activity favourability and shareability, by gender, 2024
- Differentiated social services provide opportunities for appealing to the high-end market
- Graph 40: brand marketing activity favourability and shareability, by household monthly income, 2024
- Create excitement and AI co-creation may enrich social life in lower tier cities
- Graph 41: selected brand marketing activity favourability and shareability, by city tier, 2024
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Issues and insights
- Intergenerational friendships: marketing activities to promote cross-generational communication
- Encouraging intergenerational communication to build a bridge between young and old
- A win-win situation: mutual aid and sharing of multigenerational experiences lead to effective social interactions
- Everyone's invited: gender-neutral sports social marketing
- Online sports challenges for everyone with all-gender social interactions
- Sports themes with inherent gender-neutral traits transcend gender boundaries, making social interactions more photogenic
- Step up the game in co-creation experiences: interactive AI marketing
- AI group photos and game leaderboard interactions have entered consumers' social circles
- Guochao style product + AI social relay challenge provides a common goal to mobilise social participation
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Appendix – methodology and abbreviations
- Methodology
- Abbreviations
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