Without love life and family trappings, China’s singles become consumption engine in economy

Marriages in China fell to a 13-year low of 9.47 million in 2019, even after the government tweaked its one-child policy to rejuvenate birth rate

The footloose and fancy-free generation has strong discretionary spending power, a target for consumer goods companies

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Thousands of Chinese singles take part in a matchmaking fair for employees from China's state-owned companies, in Beijing, in November 2011. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 9:30am, 26 Dec 2020Updated: 11:51am, 3 Mar 2021

Angela Wang has no qualms when it comes to splurging on her two cats. Being single and financially-independent, she has spent some 50,000 yuan (US$7,650) on her exotic shorthair and a British blue over the past two years, treating them to food and toys on most days, and haircuts and spa visits on occasional weekends.

“My pets are my family here,” said the 31-year-old marketing manager with a fashion retailing company, who moved to Chengdu in southwestern Sichuan province four years ago after breaking up with her boyfriend. “They have been with me through my ups and downs, and I just want to give the best to them.”

Wang is part of 240 million mainland Chinese singles without the trappings of family life like children and mortgages, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. They make up the largest pool of singles globally, while the number of marriages slumped to a 13-year low of 9.47 million in 2019. Not too long ago, hashtags like “people born after 1990 do not want to marry” took Weibo – China’s Twitter-like social media platform – by storm.

That makes the footloose and fancy-free generation a prime target for businesses like Petkit, Miniso Group, Pop Mart International and Little Bear Electrical Appliances, which have benefited from their rising purchasing power. Chinese singles are self-indulgent and enjoy splurging on cosmetics, filling their wardrobes and shoe racks with the latest fashion, collecting trendy toys and eating one-person portion meals.

Fair to say, they contribute a large chunk to sales of domestic consumer goods, a market worth US$6 trillion, according to an estimate by New York-based consultancy Oliver Wyman. Singles born after 1990 spent foremost on fashion and apparel, personal care products, and snacks and drinks, according to a November survey by online dating portal Zhenai.com and JD.com.

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