Some time ago, Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Charles Schwab jointly conducted an investigation. It shows that 28.6% of respondents have listed luxury spending as a financial goal, a decrease of more than 50% from five years ago. While 35.4% said they no longer own investment properties, up 21.3 percentage points from last year, cash and fixed deposits became their main investment options.
These respondents are all from first- to third-tier cities, with annual incomes ranging from 125,000 yuan to 1 million yuan. It can be seen that the current middle-class consumption concept tends to be rational.
This year, the box office of Chinese New Year films reached a new high, with a revenue of more than 7.8 billion yuan, among which "Hot and Hot" and "Flying Life 2" both took the lead, becoming the first choice for many post-80s and 90s people, especially in second- and third-tier cities. The key is that their preferences for film content and their choice of viewing methods have shaped the current film market to a certain extent.
And this also shows an important phenomenon, the post-80s and 90s have become the main consumer force of the middle class.
This kind of "new middle class" has the right to speak in the dimension of content selection, and will contribute 80% of the consumption proportion in the future with the improvement of economic capital and consumption strength.
So, as the backbone of the middle class in the field of consumption, what kind of pursuit and choice does the "new middle class" have for consumption?
Mobile phone: the rise of domestic products, the quality-price ratio is YYDS
In the past, most people generally believed that mobile phones could only be divided into two kinds – Apple and miscellaneous phones. And with the development of trade and the promotion of economic globalization, this impression is still deeply ingrained in the hearts of the middle class. However, in recent years, the rise of domestic supply chain and self-developed technology has enabled domestic brands such as Huawei and OPPO to win the favor of consumers with cutting-edge technologies such as satellite communication and 100-watt fast charging.
In particular, the Huawei Pura 70 series models that went on sale recently made consumers spontaneously form a "squad" without notice, and queued up in offline stores, just to give priority to experiencing better domestic products.
What's more, the launch of mid-range products that are comparable to Apple's quality, function and performance, but the price is only one-third or even lower, has become one of the first choices of the "new middle class" group with the ultimate quality-price ratio.
This change not only reflects the great importance they attach to the quality-price ratio of products, but also reflects the progress of domestic brands in technology and quality.
Mobility: Environmental protection and health have become the new choice
In terms of travel mode, the "new middle class" has begun to get rid of its dependence on large means of transportation such as airplanes and high-speed rail. They are keen to pursue a personalized and liberal lifestyle, and at the same time, out of the importance of environmental protection and health, they often choose relatively "outrageous" means of transportation.
On social platforms such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu, you can often see videos such as "sharing bicycles across provinces" and "Tibet hiking", and even some young stars start cycling challenges, all of which show that the "new middle class" shows a love for life and a huge change in consumption concepts with a different way of traveling.
Household appliance consumption: domestic product support and high-quality pursuit
Looking back, it seems that few domestic household appliances have been "treated". Middle-class families with a high level of consumption use a rice cooker from Tiger (Japan), watch TV with Sony Samsung, and even air conditioners and refrigerators are keen on foreign brands, as if they are inherently good quality and high-end. Although, the price of these brands is much higher than that of domestic ones.
As for the "new middle class", they reject the brand's unjustified high premium, and will choose products with a higher degree of price matching the actual value. Of course, this does not mean that the "new middle class" only buys low-priced products, on the contrary, what they value is the quality-price ratio of the product, and whether the product can give something of real value.
In this regard,The change in the share of domestic household appliances in the domestic market is enough to show,Especially in the choice of high-end TVs is more obvious。 In the data of the third-party authority Zhongyikang, TCL ranks first in Mini LED TV sales in 2023 with a market share of up to 50.5%, and the first few are also domestic brands. On the other hand, Samsung Sony, which was favored by middle-class families in the early years, had a pitiful share.
Obviously, also in the high-end Mini LED TV category, the "new middle class" is more keen on domestic brands. The key is that TCL, as a pioneer in this field, debuted and mass-produced the world's first Mini LED TV in 2019, while other brands are still pinning their hopes on OLED. At the same time, TCL Huaxing has established an ecological advantage that runs through the upstream and downstream industrial chain in the field of Mini LED.
With the support of the two aspects, TCL finally took another big step forward this year - released TCL's global halo control technology.
At the technical level, it is regarded as the "halo terminator", which can solve the halo problem that has existed in Mini LED TVs for a long time and has plagued the industry for a long time. In the annual flagship X11H, this technology integrates five black technologies that can affect halos, such as six-crystal square core II, super-concentrating micro-lens, macro OD value, backlight response algorithm and A++ butterfly wing star screen, to achieve a perfect level of light control from the full link of Mini LED imaging. The lens technology alone uses 24 related patents, and the self-developed technologies such as screens and light-emitting chips are countless.
The experience above the price point and the technology leading the whole industry have become the key to shaping domestic brands to be loved by the "new middle class".
Car consumption: Brand is no longer the only criterion
For the problem of automobile consumption, the "new middle class" is no longer limited to the influence of overseas brands such as Japanese and German brands in the early days, and they pay more attention to many factors such as car performance, design, intelligence level and after-sales service. This change in consumption concept has prompted automakers to continuously improve product quality and service levels to meet the needs of "new forces".
The M9, which was launched during the New Year's Day, was released only 7 days after the release of more than 30,000 units, and the amount has exceeded 300 million yuan so far. In Huawei's response from car sales, it can be found that the post-80s group accounts for the majority of consumption, and they are impressed by a more intelligent interactive system, a more high-tech intelligent driving experience, and a safer driving environment.
conclusion
At present, the consumption concept of the middle class is becoming more and more rational, especially the "new middle class" composed of young groups such as the post-80s and 90s, which shows that they value the improvement of the quality of life given by product functions, and even the life attitude and emotional value given by high-quality products. For the seller's market, it is a win-win road to a positive cycle to continuously improve products under the "whipping" and finally gain more favor from the "new middle class".