China's "new" economy: a new hot spot for consumption of "Generation Z"

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, January 28 Title: China's "New" Economy: A New Hot Spot for Consumption of "Generation Z"

Xinhua News Agency reporters Xu Xintao, Liu Haodong, and Ma Xinran

Sliding left and right, "post-95" white-collar Meng Wenshan moved her fingers and tried the latest lipstick number one by one. With the help of augmented reality (AR) technology, through the mobile phone screen in front of her, all kinds of lipstick can be "put on makeup" with one click, and she experienced a "cloud" counter shopping without going out and removing makeup.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China's "Generation Z" (generally referred to as the population born between 1995 and 2009) is about 260 million, and the expenditure is as high as 4 trillion yuan, accounting for 13% of China's total household expenditure. With the increasing spending power of this group, more and more operators are targeting the preferences of "Generation Z" and adjusting their business content and strategies with the times.

As an emerging technology that can provide immersive experiences, virtual reality technology (VR) has attracted the attention of many "Generation Z" youth.

In a VR experience hall in Beijing's Chaoyang District, the play area of about 40 square meters is surrounded by a green screen, five or six college students wear VR glasses and hold the controller, sometimes raising the controller to "aim and shoot", sometimes crouching down to "find cover", sometimes shaking the body to "dodge the attack", and within the 30-minute experience time, shouting and laughter are endless.

"Recently, the concept of 'metaverse' is very popular, VR is an important part of the 'metacosm', and many friends around have also been to vr experience halls." Guo Haoyu, a college student, told reporters that curiosity was driven by recommendations from friends to bring him here, and the result was "a lot of fun."

According to the analysis of CCID Research Institute, the new crown epidemic has promoted the development of contactless economy, and "5G +VR" has helped upgrade cultural and entertainment consumption, enriching the "cloud" life of "Generation Z" from many new aspects. According to statistics, on the day of Tmall's "Double Twelve" in 2021, the year-on-year increase in cross-border VR equipment categories will be as high as 2,000%, and it is expected that there will still be room for growth in the future, of which the driving force of "Generation Z" should not be underestimated.

"VR technology from games to the public, the first to attract the younger generation. With the continuous diversification of VR technology applications, the "Z generation" with a keen sense of "smell" for new things has become a new force to promote the development of the VR industry. Dai Huawen, vice president of Nanchang Weiai Information Technology Co., Ltd., said that the huge driving force of "Generation Z" has brought business opportunities to the development of this industry, followed by the continuous investment of related enterprises and the continuous addition of new enterprises, so that the VR industry has broad prospects for economic development.

Academic experts believe that most of the "Generation Z" as Internet natives are only children and have a strong demand for face-to-face entertainment with friends, which provides a broad space for the development of offline entertainment activities based on script killing.

Near the provincial sports center in Jinan, Shandong, the business of several script killing theme stores is booming. "On weekday evenings and all day on weekends and holidays, the store is full." The owner told reporters that some of the weekends, even two or three days in advance of the reservation, players can experience the favorite script and host service, and these customers, "post-95" accounted for more than 70%.

"In the script killing game, we socialize entirely by personal acting skills and language expressions, and sometimes we can see the other side of our friends, which is a very novel way of communicating." "Post-95" player Li Xiaohui said that there are many types of script killings, and live-action thrillers, live-action interactive classes, and large-scale mechanical classes have opened up all over the streets.

According to data from the Meituan Research Institute, the number of Chinese script killing stores in 2019 was only 2,400, and as of April 2021, this data has exceeded 45,000, and it is expected that by 2022, the industry market size will reach 23.89 billion yuan. The data shows that in the first quarter of 2021, 52.2% of China's "Gen Z" used script killing apps.

Compared with product content, "Generation Z" pays more attention to experiential feeling. In this context, many script killing brands "find another way" and cooperate with some specific venue providers in the mode of "script killing +" to achieve a win-win situation.

A few days ago, a script killing brand targeted consumers with the "Generation Z" group, and cooperated with a high-end cruise ship on the Huangpu River to carry out the script killing game at the same time, players can also personally board the cruise ship to tour the beautiful scenery of the river.

The unique "script killing + cruise ship" has "circled fans" countless times. "The income of a scene script will often be higher than the room rate of a night in a hotel, and the economic potential is unlimited." He Jingfu, head of Jinan Oriental Entertainment Service Co., Ltd., said.

According to the analysis of the First Financial Business Data Center, the "Generation Z" is willing to pay for their diverse interests. The experts interviewed said that this consumption habit and ability of the young group makes the script killing content providers constantly break the barriers of the venue and improve the quality of the script killing experience.

Script killing can also be embedded in unique cultural and artistic performances, traditional handicrafts, folklore stories, historical sites, etc., through the form of script games, so that "Generation Z" can understand Chinese culture and get an "immersive" experience.

"Without causing damage, you can also consider introducing the scripted killing game into the appropriate scenic spots." Wang Zhongwu, a professor of sociology at Shandong University, said that this has allowed more "Generation Z" to change from cultural "viewers" to "participants", creating more commercial value for traditional cultural tourism projects through interactive games. (Contributors: Qi Fei, Chen Yushan, Zhang Wuyue)

Poster Maker: Ma Xinran