Experience economy represents shift to emotional value

Enhanced XR improves lives

Beyond policy support, technological innovation is also opening up new possibilities for the experience economy. As artificial intelligence, extended reality and spatial audio become more widely applied, everyday activities such as watching films and playing games are being reshaped into more immersive, interactive and portable experiences.

XR glasses are a case in point. By taking entertainment beyond fixed screens such as televisions, monitors and handheld consoles, they allow users to bring a more personalized viewing and gaming experience into different settings, from home to daily commutes and travel.

VITURE, one of the world's fastest-growing XR glasses makers, offers one example of how technology is being used to expand experience-based consumption. In May, the company launched its latest flagship XR glasses, VITURE Beast, which it said can deliver an immersive large-display viewing experience whether users are at home, commuting or traveling.

The company said the device is equipped with a next-generation Sony Micro-OLED display and a 58-degree field of view, designed to offer a wider image while maintaining clarity, color consistency and visual detail.

A user on Xiaohongshu — a Chinese social media platform also known as RedNote — recently shared his experience with the device, saying he mainly uses it to watch sports and movies, and that the immersive viewing experience "feels like sitting in a cinema".

Such devices are not only reshaping personal entertainment, but also opening up fresh possibilities for cultural tourism, where history can be seen, heard and experienced in more vivid ways.

VITURE has previously applied XR technology at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, a more than 600-year-old UNESCO World Heritage site, to support heritage tours. With immersive video guides, visual storytelling and spatial audio, visitors can explore landmarks including the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the Echo Wall and the Circular Mound Altar in more engaging ways.

According to the company, the XR experience highlights architectural details such as carved dragons and painted beams at the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the Temple of Heaven's iconic, triple-eaved, blue-tiled landmark. It also uses spatial audio to explain the famed acoustic effect of the Echo Wall and provides immersive narration at the Circular Mound Altar to help visitors better understand the site's ritual and historical significance.

Market response also points to the consumption potential of immersive devices. VITURE said the Beast is available on Tmall, JD.com and Douyin, and buyers can receive subsidies of up to 15 percent under China's consumer goods trade-in program. After its launch, the product ranked among the top performers in the high-end XR category on Tmall and JD.com, according to the company.

David Jiang, founder and chief executive officer of VITURE, said the Beast marks another step forward for the company in XR glasses.

"With VITURE Beast, we push the boundaries of what XR can make possible as a next-generation gateway to immersive digital experiences," Jiang said, adding that XR glasses are reshaping the way people watch, play and engage with digital content.

"XR and other technologies are taking consumption into a more multidimensional and immersive stage, digitally reshaping sensory experiences," Wang said.

Such technologies add value to services consumption, turning relatively simple physical experiences into higher-level digital alternatives. They also support the service sector's transition toward digital, intelligent and immersive models, making them a key driver of high-quality consumption growth, Wang said, adding that despite its rapid growth, the experience economy still faces challenges, with standardization and homogenization being among the key concerns.

He said the sector cannot rely solely on traffic and novelty, and that sustainable growth will depend on continuous innovation, differentiated content and better service quality.

Echoing that view, Wei Qijia, director and researcher at the Industrial Economy Research Office of the economic forecasting department under the State Information Center, said innovation is the lifeblood of the experience economy.

Services innovation, Wei said, requires deeper integration of technology and application scenarios, as well as more diversified and high-quality experience-based products.

"China's experience economy is at a critical stage in which market expansion and quality upgrading are advancing at the same time," Chen said.

Looking ahead, Chen said policymakers should better align efforts to improve people's livelihoods, boost consumption and invest in both physical assets and human capital. She added that new demand should guide new supply, while new supply should create new demand, promoting a more dynamic balance between supply and demand.

China's experience economy had reached 18.4 trillion yuan by the end of November, up 22.6 percent year-on-year and 7.4 percentage points higher than the global average growth rate, said the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

The academy projects the market will exceed 22 trillion yuan in 2026, and maintain an average annual growth rate of more than 20 percent during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30).

zhangchenxu@chinadaily.com.cn