#记录我的2024#今年以来, a lot of topics about county consumption have attracted much attention from the market, and it is estimated that many migrant workers have discovered that the consumption level of their hometown county seems to be completely different from the income level, and even a piece of clothing of one or two thousand is not particularly common in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, but clothes are very common in the county, which makes people want to ask how the high prices of these small counties are supported?
1. The high price of a shirt is 1,800 yuan
According to Tencent News Prism, "county ladies" are becoming a group that has attracted the attention of consumer brands. They have money, leisure, and status in the local social circle, and have become the vane of fashion consumption in the county. Consumer brands such as L'Occitane, Lululemon, Starbucks, and Haidilao, which originally focused on urban white-collar workers, began to target them, and listed third-tier and below cities as new markets to focus on.
According to the data, Starbucks has opened more than 6,800 stores in China, of which 486 are located in county-level cities. Of Haidilao's more than 1,300 stores, 50 are located in county towns and 111 are located in county-level cities. On March 4, Haidilao announced that it would implement the franchise model, and many netizens shouted the slogan "Haidilao is not a dream in the county". Since the beginning of last year, L'Occitane has continued to target China's third-tier and lower-tier cities, preparing to open 10 to 15 stores in them. At present, the lineup of more than 250 stores listed on the brand's official WeChat account has expanded to Lishui, Zhuji, Shangyu, Taizhou, Qinghai, Xinjiang and other regions. During the Spring Festival this year, He Yan (pseudonym), who works in Shenzhen, accompanied her to go shopping, and personally felt the consumption level of the county lady. "A shirt is 1,800 yuan, a new Chinese top is 3,800 yuan, and a woolen coat is 20,000 yuan. In a women's clothing store that has been open for more than ten years, she was shocked by the price tag on the clothes. Her hometown is a county-level city in Hunan Province, where the average salesperson earns only 2,500 yuan a month.
2. How are the high prices in small counties supported by noble ladies?
In China, with the rapid growth of the economy and the general improvement of people's living standards, profound changes are taking place in consumption patterns and concepts. Especially in third- and fourth-tier cities and small counties, the phenomenon of high prices has gradually become the focus of people's attention. In these areas, a shirt priced at up to 1,800 yuan is no longer an isolated phenomenon, but reflects the special structure of the local consumer market and changes in consumer behavior. What should we make of this?
First of all, with economic development, especially in the process of urbanization, small counties have benefited from national policy tilt and industrial transfer, local economic activity has increased, the income of urban and rural residents has generally increased, and a part of the wealthy class has risen rapidly. This group includes not only business owners and senior managers, but also successful families whose children are working or doing business abroad, whose income levels far exceed the local average, forming a strong consumer power. When their disposable income reaches a certain height, the level of demand for consumer goods also increases, and they are willing and able to pay relatively high prices to buy goods of superior quality or symbolic significance, thus driving the formation and development of the high-end consumer demand market.
Secondly, compared with the high cost of living and fierce competition in large cities, the pace of life in small counties is relatively slow, and the cost of living is relatively low. There is less pressure to spend on rent, education, transportation, etc., so that these "noblewomen" have more idle funds for non-essential consumption. After satisfying their basic living needs, they pursued a personalized and high-end consumer experience, and became the main consumer group of high-priced goods such as luxury goods and high-end clothing in the county, further pushing up the local price level. In addition, the consumption environment in small counties is relatively closed, and consumers are often influenced by relatives, friends, neighbors and other people around them when choosing goods. When the ladies around them start to buy high-end shirts, others will also be affected by this consumption atmosphere and have the desire to follow the trend and buy. This kind of consumption psychology has further promoted the formation of the phenomenon of high prices in small counties.
Third, as a typical humane society, the interpersonal network of small counties is close and complex, and the importance of social status is more prominent. In this context, consumption behavior is often not only to meet the actual use needs, but also to carry the function of showing personal and family wealth, status and taste. Buying high-priced goods, such as a shirt for 1,800 yuan, is not only a purchase of clothing for "ladies", but also a means to build and maintain a social image. Therefore, ladies buy high-end goods not only to meet their own clothing needs, but also to show their social status and economic strength. This kind of consumer psychology has promoted the prosperity of the high-end market in small counties to a certain extent.
Fourth, the market strategy adjustment of international brands and domestic high-end brands has also indirectly promoted the formation of high prices in small counties. In the face of market saturation in first-tier cities and the increasingly rational consumption trend of consumers, brand merchants have begun to sink channels, aiming at the blue ocean of the market that has not yet been fully developed in third- and fourth-tier cities and small counties. By opening specialty stores and settling in shopping malls, high-end goods that were originally only visible in first-tier cities were brought into small counties, catering to the needs of the local wealthy class for consumption upgrades, which in turn promoted the overall rise of local price levels.
Therefore, the phenomenon of a shirt priced at 1,800 yuan selling well in a small county actually reflects the result of the interweaving of various factors such as the upgrading of consumption structure, the widening of income gaps and the change of brand market layout in the process of economic development in the third and fourth tier cities and small counties in the mainland. With the change of residents' consumption concept and social and economic development, the consumer market in small counties will be further diversified in the future, and how to balance the consumption needs of different income classes and prevent social problems caused by excessive consumption gap may be the thing we need to pay attention to the most.