Calm "Double 11", young people "spend every penny"
Trainee reporter Xia Hua
This year's "Double 11" is a little plain, with live broadcasts, strategy, and speed...Many people complain about the cumbersome promotional rules, while buying and buying excitedly.
But there is a group of people who are completely out of the picture.
The reporter noticed that in the Douban "Consumerism Retrograde" group, more than 300,000 netizens have collectively resisted consumerism, and they have used various methods to call for rational consumption.
From "shopping" to refusing to participate
"Every year on'Double 11' we have to learn new rules. This is actually a way for platforms to tame us." said Ms. Ma, who works in Beijing.
Ms. Ma’s last purchase record was still in April of this year, and she did not add any products to her shopping cart during the "Double 11" shopping cart.
However, in the early years, Ms. Ma was a heavy participant of "Double 11", spending an average of nearly 10,000 yuan for each "shopping".
Why I lost my desire to shop, Ms. Ma said: "The rules are too complicated. Every year, I spend time learning new shopping rules, looking for strategies, and feel like an animal tamed by the rules of the platform."
Different from Ms. Ma, who refused to participate in "Double 11" for a long time, Student Qin is gearing up for this year's "Double 11". Link, the item you want to buy is also added to the shopping cart in advance.
"After I placed the order, I discovered that there was a hidden offer. I looked at everyone's screenshots on Weibo and found that someone bought it cheaper than me." Qin felt disappointed not to enjoy the lowest price. This kind of discount is the lowest price. Many people empathize with the price chase.
"Break off" to bid farewell to pseudo-demand
"The house is rented but life is not", "Women should be nice to themselves", "Exquisite girls should have it", "Autumn and winter must be entered"... These advertisements have packaged the goods into sweets of desire, originally ordinary High heels and lipstick have become a symbol of elegance, sophistication and taste.
Under the atmosphere of "Double 11", all platforms are tainted with carnival consumption mood. Various enlarged fonts such as "must buy", "must store", "miss to wait for a year" and other enlarged fonts stimulate the nerves of consumers.
How to see through these "pseudo-needs" that have been packaged is the first lesson for "consumerist retrogrades".
"I have hundreds of lipsticks, but the most commonly used ones are two or three." Xiaoding, a former heavy lipstick lover, said that he was keen to buy new lipsticks from major brands, and after buying lipsticks, he would buy lipstick storage. .
After moving twice, Xiaoding decided to “leave the house and leave”, leaving the frequently used ones and disposing of everything else.
Cost-effectiveness is an important criterion for consumerism retrograde shopping.
Ms. Yan, who is engaged in Internet operations, is a practitioner of minimalist life. “Basically, I buy two or three pieces of clothes every season. Everyday items are used up before they are used up. I never buy luxury goods, only necessities.” This year's "Double 11", Ms. Yan only bought toothbrushes.
The "2021 Chinese Consumers Online Shopping Consumption Confidence Index Survey Report" recently released by the School of Journalism and Communication of Beijing Normal University also shows that "consumption should be cost-effective and rational and temperate" is the most recognized consumer concept by the interviewees.
Rational consumption is not anti-consumption
The emergence of the "consumerist retrograde" group is a microcosm of the change in China's consumption concept.
According to the "2019-2020 China Youth Consumption Report" released in May 2020, 55.8% of young people said they are more inclined to "buy only what is necessary for their lives" when consuming, and 40.2% of young people choose to "buy less, buy better." ".
The retrograde of consumerism is not simply resisting consumption, but opposing consumerism.
The pursuit of environmental protection is also one of the reasons why many young people reduce the frequency of e-commerce shopping.
"I basically don't buy fruits online. The packaging is too wasteful. Even each kiwi fruit and each Xinjiang red apricot are individually packaged, which is too much," said Mr. Xiang, a consumer.
"Spend every penny carefully to achieve economic independence. It should be the attitude of young people." Liu Min, who just joined the workforce this year, said that her salary is not high, so she has to plan carefully. Although her parents are willing to subsidize the rent, she does not Unwilling to reach out.
Lu Yaoxuan, an assistant researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, believes that the reflection on "Double 11" reflects that more and more young people are returning to rational consumption.
But this kind of return requires a process, which is based on a very rich material foundation.
For example, in Japan, in the 1980s and 1990s, consumer desires were overwhelming, pursuing famous brands and luxury cars, but now they are turning to minimalism and spiritual consumption.