Experience economy represents shift to emotional value

The growing crowds come amid broader momentum in China's designer and collectible toy market. Retail sales of designer and collectible toys in China reached 67.69 billion yuan ($9.4 billion) in 2025, up 45.4 percent year-on-year, said the China Toy and Juvenile Products Association.

Wang Peng, a researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said the popularity of doll outfits and exhibitions reflects young consumers' desire for relaxation, self-expression and hands-on participation.

"They are not just buying the items themselves. For many consumers, the appeal lies in the process of dressing and styling their dolls, which brings a sense of accomplishment and emotional connection," Wang said.

Such enthusiasm reflects a broader shift in China's consumer market. Instead of focusing solely on what they buy, many consumers are placing greater value on the experiences, emotional value and a sense of participation that come with a purchase.

That shift has brought the experience economy into sharper focus. As China's service consumption continues to upgrade, businesses are increasingly looking to create products and services that offer not only utility, but also personal involvement, emotional resonance and deeper engagement.

"The experience economy represents a shift from functional value to emotional value," said Chen Lifen, a researcher at the Development Research Center of the State Council.

Consumers are paying not only for the practical use of a product or service, but also for the feelings, social connections and sense of fulfillment generated during the process, Chen said, adding that the growth of the services sector has created fertile ground for the experience economy, as consumers increasingly value personalized, engaging and emotionally meaningful experiences.

The latest figures show that China's service retail sales rose 5.5 percent year-on-year in 2025, 1.7 percentage points faster than goods retail sales, while spending on services accounted for 46.1 percent of per-capita consumer expenditure, said Kang Yi, head of the National Bureau of Statistics, at a news conference in January.

Kang highlighted that as living standards continue to improve, household consumption in China is shifting from a goods-dominated model toward a more balanced mix of goods and services, steadily unlocking the potential of services consumption.

Chen added that the experience economy — as an extension of the services sector — is broadening the scope of consumption and creating spillover effects across industries, helping drive deeper integration among cultural tourism, sports, commerce, technology and other sectors.

Policymakers are also responding to the shift. In late January, the State Council released a work plan to foster new growth drivers in services consumption, calling for improved services supply, more innovative consumption scenarios and stronger talent support.

The plan identified performance services, sporting event services, and emotion and experience-oriented services as potential growth areas, and called for efforts to build new momentum in these sectors by refining incentive mechanisms, enhancing safety management, fostering high-quality brands and developing supporting platforms.