Inside China’s 2025 Youth Lifestyle Revolution: How Digital Natives Are Redefining Value, Work, and Wellness

What brands, retailers, and marketers need to know about China’s next generation of consumers

A Generation of Value-Awakened Consumers

According to the 2025 Young People’s Lifestyle Insight Report by Haiwei Think Tank, China’s 18–35-year-olds are no longer passive consumers; they are “value awakeners” shaping culture, consumption, and creativity.

Born between 1990 and 2007, this cohort grew up in three eras — the PC internet, the mobile internet, and now AI, and they are redefining how identity, technology, and wellbeing intersect.

They don’t just buy products; they buy beliefs and belonging. What matters most today is emotional resonance, social meaning, and value alignment, the new currencies of influence.

Consumption Shift: From Functionality to Emotional Value

Young consumers live by the dual logic of cost-performance (性价比) and quality-performance (质价比). Over 70% prioritise price value, while 60.7% demand quality assurance, a mix of rational budgeting and emotional precision.

Yet emotion now drives decisions:

• 57.1% pay for emotional satisfaction

• 42.8% are motivated by social belonging

From blind boxes and aromatherapy to lifestyle collabs, “emotional-value products” are reshaping markets. Blind-box industry alone reached USD 1.23 billion in 2023, projected to hit USD 3.49 billion by 2030. For brands, the challenge is no longer selling utility; it’s selling emotion with integrity.

From Survival to “Self-Investment”

Young Chinese spend as much on self-improvement as on essentials. Housing and food remain the top costs, but 49.7% invest monthly in education and 35.4% in health management.With 355 million online learners and a health-supplement market exceeding RMB 328 billion, “growth consumption” has become both personal and aspirational. Pop Mart’s collaborations, such as its Ne Zha 2 series, demonstrate how storytelling, design, and fandom fuel spending beyond price.

Brands in fitness, education, and nutrition must deliver both visible outcomes and emotional reassurance, proving that progress can feel as good as it looks.

“Me First” Spending: The Emotional Economy

The rise of 悦己消费 (self-reward consumption) marks a new emotional era. Hobbies, digital items, pets, and fandoms have become the new luxury.

• 57% of young consumers pay for hobbies

• 35% spend on “social-currency” experiences

• 30% make virtual purchases from gaming skins to livestream tipping

Consumption is no longer transactional; it’s performative, a way of expressing identity through spending. For brands, this means designing experiences that speak to self-expression, community, and creativity.

Social Connection: Light Companionship and Digital Circles

Today’s young Chinese seek 轻量化陪伴 (light companionship) and 搭子社交 (buddy-based socialising). Over 80% participate in “activity-based friendships” like camping, escape rooms, or sports. Platforms such as WeChat (76.6%) and Xiaohongshu (57.3%) are the backbone of modern social life, blending connection with comfort.

The next wave? The metaverse. Platforms such as Decentraland and The Sandbox are testing new social spaces that merge play, identity, and commerce. As tech matures, brands will find opportunity in immersive digital storytelling and virtual retail spaces where community equals commerce.

Work and Growth: Limited Rebellion Meets AI Empowerment

In the workplace, young professionals are turning “quiet resistance” into cultural power. While 40.2% still choose stable employment, 35.1% work as freelancers or digital nomads, and over half pursue side hustles.

AI tools are their secret weapon: 48.6% use them daily for writing, analytics, and content creation, transforming efficiency into empowerment. For employers and platforms, positioning technology as an enabler of creativity, not control, is key to winning trust among this generation.

Health and Wellness: Tradition Meets Technology

Health is no longer just about medicine; it’s a lifestyle.

• 85.2% of young people practise food therapy (e.g., goji berries, black sesame)

• 45.7% use moxibustion or guasha tools

• 70% exercise regularly, often guided by AI-driven fitness apps and livestream workouts

Brands like Tongrentang and Shouzheng TCM Clinic illustrate how traditional wisdom meets modern branding, where heritage ingredients and digital engagement merge to deliver accessible wellness.

The Future: Personalisation, Sustainability, and Tech-Driven Living

The report highlights four defining directions for 2026 and beyond:

1. Personalised intelligence – Data-driven, niche experiences replace one-size-fits-all marketing.

2. Social experience fusion – Shopping becomes storytelling; community replaces conversion.

3. Green responsibility – Sustainability is now a baseline expectation, not a bonus.

4. Smart integration – With AI home-tech reaching 50% penetration, the smart lifestyle becomes the default.

Brands that combine authentic culture, smart design, and emotional depth will stay ahead as youth lifestyles evolve.

Strategic Takeaways for Brands and Retailers

• Emotional ROI matters more than discounts. Build meaning, not markdowns.

• Design for micro-communities. Subcultures are the new mass markets.

• Embed AI in service and storytelling. Make digital feel human.

• Lead with authenticity and sustainability. Values drive virality.

• Connect online and offline seamlessly. Consumers live in both worlds at once.

China’s 2025 youth are pragmatic dreamers: rational in spending, emotional in intent, and digital at their core. They are rewriting what “value” means, from shopping and work to health and happiness.

For brands, the opportunity lies not just in following trends, but in co-creating culture with this generation. The future of marketing in China belongs to those who can balance technology, empathy, and authenticity, transforming every purchase into participation, and every experience into belonging.

The 2025 Youth Lifestyle Report signals a new era of consumer evolution, one where digital natives define how value is created and shared. Reach out to our team to learn how your brand can engage China’s value-driven youth generation or to customise strategic solutions built around your market goals.