Consumption "reducing burden" ≠ consumption "downgrading", promoting "numbing" and "replacing" very fragrant "
The topic of "saying one thing proves that your consumption has been downgraded" recently became a hot topic on Weibo. On the social media platform "Douban", there are over 360000 members in the "Has Consumption Downgraded Today" group. Money saving bloggers have appeared on social media such as Tiktok, Station B and Little Red Book, and the keywords for shopping search are "Haile Wool", "Collaborate" and "Pingdi".
During the period of June 18th this year, both Alibaba and JD.com saw a decline in sales growth, while Pinduoduo, which focuses on the low-priced market, saw a sharp increase in performance. Faced with discount promotions on major e-commerce platforms, some young people express that they are "numb" and "saving 100% by not buying" is becoming a choice
Consumer shift is happening
Multiple sources of feedback indicate that the current shift in consumption is occurring.
However, can this indicate that China, like Japan, has entered a "low desire society"? A low desire society is a concept proposed by Japanese scholar Kenichi Ohmae, who studies strategic management. He believes that after 20 years of deflation and sustained economic downturn, many young Japanese people are unwilling to get married and have children, nor to buy a house or a car. "Low desire" is a common characteristic of this group.
It is obvious that the national conditions between China and Japan are different, and the background for this phenomenon is different. The difference in land area between the two countries is significant, and China, with its vast territory and abundant resources, has a much higher level of economic and social complexity than Japan. At least it cannot be said that "low desire" is a common phenomenon among young people in China at present.
Of course, it cannot be denied that "low desire" has resonated with some young people in China, and the concepts of "reverse consumption", "second-hand consumption", "minimalist consumption", and even "separation" have been recognized by some people. Some young people have started to be enthusiastic about spending in "ten yuan stores" such as Miniso, some have taken out their idle items to monetize, and some have turned to consuming culture, art, sports, and paid knowledge. In their view, this is "smarter consumption", an effective consumption that understands their true needs.
From this perspective, the desires of young people may not become "lackluster", but rather when material abundance becomes "readily available" and channels become "extremely convenient", and desires are more easily satisfied, they either develop towards higher-level needs or become dull, exhibiting a so-called "low desire" state.
Low desire is a manifestation. Regarding the topic of "consumption downgrading", rational consumption "reducing burden" may not be considered as consumption "downgrading", but in a sense, it is a kind of consumption "upgrading". For many young people who are enthusiastic about buying, rather than struggling with whether consumption has been downgraded, what needs to be reflected on is how to avoid being influenced by desire, not pursue exaggeration, reduce unnecessary waste, and refuse to excessively overdraw future advanced consumption.
Nowadays, more and more young people do not want to compromise their quality of life, but also want to distance themselves from excessive consumption, consciously making "no spending" and "less spending" more reasonable. These seem to indicate an awakening of rational consumption consciousness.
"I like drinking this flavor of milk tea," "I also wear this brand of clothing," "I bought someone's book," etc. Many times, as the main force of consumption, young people's consumption behavior not only triggers pure material needs of the parties involved, but also highlights a cultural symbol and social identity bond, and even leads to the attribution of social life values. ".
The topic of "consumption downgrade" has been frequently mentioned recently and continues to be hotly discussed. A noteworthy dimension of consumers not spending money and spending less is the emergence of a "turning point" in their consumption mindset. Meanwhile, as various forms of flexible employment become normalized, preventive savings have increased. After the impact of the epidemic, young people's expectations for the future have become more rational, and their awareness of preparing for risks is increasing.
The most trusted "one car"
It is worth mentioning that as we enter the stage of high-quality development, the path dependence of "more investment, faster development" in the past is gradually being broken. In the current critical stage of economic recovery, expanding domestic demand has been raised to a new height, and consumption has become the most heavily relied upon "one" among the "three carriages" of economic growth.
Faced with the global economic downturn, more and more people believe that economic growth is mainly hindered by people's consumption ability. Only when domestic demand rises can the manufacturing and supporting service industries related to consumption rise, and the economy usher in a new upward cycle. The premise is to enable workers to accumulate wealth through reproduction and consumption, which means improving the income and welfare level of residents. The recently released "Measures for Restoring and Expanding Consumption" by the National Development and Reform Commission proposes to highlight popularization and inclusiveness, create a convenient and reassuring consumption environment, and continuously improve consumer convenience, comfort, and satisfaction.
At present, various regions across the country have introduced policies and measures to boost consumption, from "expanding the scale of consumption vouchers" to "extending car purchase subsidies", from "barbecue" in Zibo to "village supermarkets" in Guizhou and "rock" in Shijiazhuang. Various regions have used real money, silver and ingenious methods to stimulate consumption and send "big gift packages". Some places have explicitly stated in their policies that they will implement the "ten-year doubling plan for urban and rural residents' income", promote stable income growth for college graduates, and improve the public service system to reasonably reduce the burden on middle-income groups.
It can be seen that local governments have a deeper understanding of the logic of economic growth, and the Chinese consumer market has shown marginal improvement in some areas. We cannot let these good policies remain on paper, allowing residents to only improve their consumption in certain aspects, and the measures to promote consumption in some places cannot become a declarative "bonsai project".
Boosting consumption will ultimately face deep-seated contradictions and explore the establishment and improvement of long-term mechanisms. The Measures for Restoring and Expanding Consumption propose to continuously deepen reforms, accelerate the clearance of various regulations and practices that restrict consumption, orderly remove institutional and hidden barriers in the consumption field, and promote the coordination and unity of standards, rules, and policies in different regions and industries.
Ultimately, it is necessary to do a good job in education, medical care, and affordable housing, so as to improve the social security system and allow local fiscal expenditures to be spent on improving people's livelihoods. This will enable all types of consumer groups to have stable income, be able to consume, have no worries, and be willing to consume. We will also build an environment that is "easy to consume" and guide confidence and expectations in "willing to consume".
