'Emotional spending' a touch of holiday luxury

Can you feel it?

China's emotional economy reached about 2.3 trillion yuan in 2024, with projections that it will exceed 4.5 trillion yuan by 2029, a recent report by iiMedia Research Group, a data mining and analysis company, showed.

"The core role of the emotional economy is to meet consumers' emotional needs, with the product or service's value transferring from its practical function to emotional comfort. Consumers value emotional resonance, psychological comfort, or a sense of self-identity from the product or services rather than the products' functions," the report said.

The emotional economy will continue to grow at a high speed, injecting vitality into the nation's economy by creating new commercial opportunities, the report said.

For Beijing resident Zhang Kefei, 52, emotional satisfaction comes in splashing out on high-quality takeout food enjoyed at home. For Spring Festival, she has booked a takeout dinner for her family from China World Hotel, one of the city's luxury hotels, priced at 1,688 yuan.

"We prefer budget-friendly restaurants usually, but we'd like to spend more money on a premium meal for such an important festival," she said, noting that the set comprises eight dishes including Peking duck and braised large yellow croaker.

"The set is for my family of five, and I chose it because I wish to have the New Year's Eve dinner at home with premium quality," Zhang said.

"We used to cook at home or dine in restaurants on previous Chinese New Year's Eves, but the experience was not great due to long queues and noisy environments," she explained.

"The meal set is not cheap, of course, but the quality, the hotel's brand, and the convenience are major reasons for my choice. I will decorate the table setting with elegant touches like a red tablecloth and the Chinese 'fu' character, meaning blessings, to add some Spring Festival atmosphere," she said.

Zhang believes that spending for emotional value is quite normal, especially during Spring Festival.

"The family used to be busy cooking dinner on Chinese New Year's Eve. The takeout can release us from these heavy household chores, allowing us to dine elegantly and relax, chatting with each other," Zhang said.

She said she values both the emotional value and cost-effectiveness of ordering food in, making her family members happy and their time together "hassle-free", even if it costs more money.