The power of youth is being crediting as adding the fire to the Chinese economy that has propelled the country’s night economy to now be where the majority of consumption takes place. And they are no longer spending it in KTVs.
¥30 trillion this year and counting. That’s how much China’s millennials have spent on their night-time consumption in 2021 to date.
According to recently-released statistics, fully 60 percent of China’s consumption now occurs at night, and the millennials (post-90s and post-00s) are largely responsible.
Their extensive needs in life, leisure and social networking have given birth to the rise and popularity of more new business forms. And this night economy is estimated to take in ¥36 trillion by the time the year is out.
According to The World Journal, Wired Insight (发现连线) has reported that this booming evening consumption trend is largely driven by national and local policies. Such stem from China’s State Council desires to accelerate the night economy in 2019.
But note that the traditional form of late-night fun for young Chinese, KTV, is not among the key drivers.
With the emerging new nightlife becoming more and more popular, some of the old formats have been gradually abandoned by young people. The KTV business has in fact been on the decline since 2016. By 2019 there were over 10,000 less KTV establishments in China.
In their place, secret escape rooms, restaurants that turn into bars and livehouses are the main drivers of the new economy.
Variety show “Star Detective 3”, inviting celebrities to role play and problem solve, has helped popularise emerging industries such as secret room escapes.
They are joined by restaurants which no longer close their doors at 9pm. Instead, they morph into bars with live music. Some have even taken to opening 24 hours.
Let’s also not forget the shopaholics. In Ningbo of Zhejiang Province, the daily turnover of 10 shopping malls within the city from 18:00 to 22:00 is accounting for 47.5 percent of the whole day’s revenue, 2.3 percentage points up on last year.
And the small concerts that are the focus of livehouses in many of China’s 1st And the small concerts that are the focus of livehouses in many of China’s 1st and 2nd tier cities have never had it so good. With audiences of between 200 or 1,000, professional performances venues, high-quality sound and effects, it can be hard to get a ticket these days.
