Post-90s generation plays greater role in consumption

A recent survey found that urban Chinese born in the 1990s are playing a significant role in buying things because they have more disposable money and a greater say in family spending.

The pocket money for a middle school student averaged 382.3 yuan ($61) a month in 2010, five times more than the 67.7 yuan a month found in the pockets of this demographic in a similar survey conducted 10 years ago, according to a report from Sinomonitor Marketing Research Co, a Beijing-based independent research firm.

Post-1990s youths also received an average of 1,923 yuan during the 2010 Spring Festival, the report said.

The survey was conducted among 2,099 university and middle school students sampled from China's five largest cities - Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan and Chengdu - from October 2010 to June 2011. These young people have authority regarding their own expenses. According to the survey, 84.3 percent of those surveyed said they would decide which clothes to buy.

They also have a significant say in family purchases, although they still depend on their parents for money. Nearly one third said they made decisions about major purchases, including houses and cars, with their parents.

A substantial 63.5 percent had credit cards.

Although being portrayed as the spoiled children of one-child families, the survey showed that the post-1990s generation maintained a realistic attitude about consumption.

According to the survey, style and design, brand, type, color, size and price were the top six factors that influenced their decisions.

Only 13.3 percent of those surveyed reported that a brand was the first factor they considered while shopping and 65.2 percent took both brand and practicality into consideration when making a purchase.

According to the survey, 70 percent said they considered both quality and price in shopping decisions.

They also pay a lot of attention to being stylish. The survey showed 47.3 percent considered a product's style and design to be the most important factors in personal purchases.

The survey also showed that 42.4 percent have shopped online at least once, spending 193 yuan more each month than those who did not.

(China Daily 07/02/2012 page16)