Abstract: Recently, 13 industry associations, incredibly home and Sina home jointly released the 2018 China new middle class home consumption index report. This report makes an in-depth investigation and objective analysis on the behavior and needs of China’s new middle-class families in home consumption, aiming to explore the new trend, new face and new direction of China’s middle and high-end people in home consumption in the future.

Recently, 13 industry associations, incredibly home and Sina home jointly released the 2018 China new middle class home consumption index report. This report makes an in-depth investigation and objective analysis on the behavior and needs of China’s new middle-class families in home consumption, aiming to explore the new trend, new face and new direction of China’s middle and high-end people in home consumption in the future.

Launch site of 2018 China new middle class household consumption index report

13 industry associations include (in no order): China Interior Decoration Association, China Forest Products Industry Association, China Building Decoration Association, China Building Decoration Materials Association, furniture decoration chamber of Commerce of all China Federation of industry and commerce, China Ceramic Industry Association, China Building Materials Market Association, China Building Materials Circulation Association, China Home Textile Association, Beijing home furnishing industry association Shanghai interior decoration industry association, Guangdong household industry federation and Haisi pan household industry federation.

Dai Bei, the national editor in chief of sina home, released the 2018 China new middle class home consumption index report

Chapter I research object: China’s new middle class

The word “new middle class” is increasingly appearing in the vision of the media and the public. China’s new middle class has achieved a certain degree of economic independence. They have a sense of belonging, security and believe that they are the backbone of this society. The new middle class has a relatively consistent lifestyle, “Quality” and “personality” are the key words most mentioned by them. The new middle class is a group of smart consumers who are less sensitive to price and more concerned about the cost performance and experience of products. For the new middle class, they do not need to use logo labels to prove their identity, but return to the pursuit of the essence of goods - better life.

Overview of China’s new middle class wealth

According to the definition of China’s middle class in the 2018 white paper on China’s new middle class issued by Hurun Research Institute: they are social groups with high consumption ability and investment ability after removing basic living consumption expenses such as family clothing, food, housing and transportation. (the basic consumption expenditure of middle-class families accounts for less than 50% of the annual disposable income of families). The specific setting is that the annual income of families in the first tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen is more than 300000 and that in other cities is more than 200000.

According to statistics, as of August 2018, the number of middle-class families in Chinese mainland has reached 33 million 200 thousand. Among them, Beijing has the largest number of middle-class families, followed by Shanghai. The number of middle-class families in Beijing, Guangdong and Shanghai accounts for 50% of the country (except Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan). By region, East China has the largest middle-class families, accounting for more than 40% of the country, reaching 14.89 million.

The “new middle class” not only has good family income and wealth conditions, but also has good educational background, stable living environment and other conditions. Overall, the size of China’s new middle class accounts for about 30% of the total middle class. The net assets of new middle-class families need to be more than 3 million. They should have at least one set of real estate in their permanent residence, preferably private cars. According to statistics, the number of middle-class families in Chinese mainland has reached 33 million 200 thousand, of which more than 10 million new middle class.

Portrait of China’s new middle class

The new middle class as a whole is very positive. They have a strong pursuit of work, family life and their personal spiritual level, and their subjective self-identity is middle class identity. According to statistics, the average age of China’s new middle class is 35. The post-80s are the main force of the new middle class, followed by the Post-70s and post-90s. They are generally well-educated, and most of them have bachelor’s degree or above. They are concentrated in popular industries such as TMT (Technology / media / communication), and some people have been promoted to enterprise managers or engaged in professional freelance. Most of them are married and have children, of which nearly 1 / 5 of the married people have had a second child. Children’s education has become the most concerned topic outside their work. At the same time, they pay attention to investment and know how to reasonably distribute their wealth. They no longer meet the material pursuit of “freedom of shopping with a house and a car”, but pay more attention to the quality of spiritual life.

The concept of happiness of China’s new middle class

The overall well-being of the new middle class is strong. 75% of the new middle class say they are “very happy”, and they are relatively satisfied with their family life, work and career. In particular, the new middle class of the young generation of the post-90s are optimistic about their future economic development and personal career development. They have their own ideas, have the courage to innovate and yearn for freedom. The pressure on the post-80s new middle class has increased significantly. They are in the growth or maturity stage of their career, pay great attention to self investment, and begin to take the responsibility of taking care of their parents and raising their children. They strive to find a balance between work and family. The life track of the new middle class after 70 has been stable and is in the most mature stage of life. Their life experience, financial ability and personal cultivation are at the peak. They also pay attention to self investment, but they are more reflected in the improvement of spiritual culture. It is worth mentioning that the happiness of the new middle class living in the second and third tier cities is significantly higher than that in the first tier cities.

Consumption view of China’s new middle class

New middle class people are willing to invest more in perception, experience life and self-improvement. For them, daily consumption is no longer a basic functional and price tag, but a lifestyle that shows their quality and taste. The consumption of the new middle class is more rational. Compared with the price, they are more concerned about the internal quality of consumer goods and the additional value that can be given to them.

The two most popular forms of leisure and entertainment for the new middle class are tourism (53%) and sports and fitness (40%). They attach great importance to physical and mental health and body management, and maintain a high enthusiasm for sports and fitness. Among them, the post-90s are the most active in sports and fitness, with more than half exercising 4 or more times a week. In the past two years, the new middle-class people have traveled for personal reasons for an average of five times, mainly for leisure vacation (69%), followed by family travel (37%). Xinzhong