Abandoning famous brand bags and picking up handbags made of various materials have become a new choice for some young consumers nowadays, creating a unique handbag culture. In the "Fourth Era of Consumption" that has arrived, people have begun to pursue a simple and shared consumption life. Consumers' non-material consumption willingness has been enhanced. They no longer blindly pursue brands, but promote a simple, low-carbon ecological life.
Paying attention to the details of current consumer culture, integrating into the context of young consumers and obtaining traffic passwords to meet their emotional needs may become the secret for brands to stand out.
“Shenzhen Bao” is popular
Suddenly, "Shenzhen Bao" became popular. This is not a world-famous brand or a Chinese famous brand, but a variety of handbags - canvas bags, paper bags, milk tea bags, etc., which were named "Shenzhen City" because they were frequently carried by so many Shenzhen citizens in various places. Bag".
Many friends who came to Shenzhen for the first time find it strange that young people carrying big-name bags are rare on the streets, in the subway, in bookstores, and in cinemas, but people carrying cloth or paper bags can be seen everywhere. From Huangbeiling to Gangxia North Metro Hub, from Hongshan to Nanshan Science and Technology Park, whether on the morning rush hour commute or downstairs in the bustling CBD, the "bag content" is very high. Bags of different materials and colors are... The "natal bag" of Shenzhen people.
Various handbags similar to "Shenzhen bags" are also quite common among young people in big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. “Pragmatic” bags can be seen everywhere on the streets of some big cities. Most of them are milk tea packaging, shopping paper bags, and conference canvas bags. Their main focus is practicality and versatility. The handbags are durable and stain-resistant, can be carried by hand or carried on the shoulder, and some have thermal insulation coatings that can span genders and ages. Some friends also hang cartoon accessories on them, which is obviously not for occasional use.
In addition to handbags, many young people nowadays live a more relaxed and casual life regardless of their monthly income. In line with the consumer mentality of "spend money and spend money", large T-shirts, Crocs shoes, and canvas bags are basically their standard equipment. . These simple and pragmatic items have become a "vane" for consumption.
Rational and pragmatic consumption is on the rise
Are today's young people becoming more rational and frugal? Economists think it is. Young people of Generation Z no longer blindly pursue brands and luxury goods, and no longer buy at will for the sake of brand and face. They pay more attention to their real needs, focus on product quality, cost performance and consumption experience, prefer sharing behaviors and second-hand transactions, and recognize and advocate environmentally friendly and sustainable consumption concepts. This kind of consumption philosophy and values, which is completely different from the blind pursuit of famous brands and expensive consumer goods in the past, is defined as "reverse consumption".
Japanese social consumption researcher Miura Shun pointed out in the book "The Fourth Era of Consumption" that consumers are currently shifting from the pursuit of famous brands to the pursuit of simplicity, and from private concepts to shared consciousness. The emergence and rise of this consumption concept means that consumers themselves no longer pursue face and purchase unnecessary luxury goods, but instead pursue cost-effective products.
The "2023 China Consumption Theme Report" released by Tianyancha confirms this judgment. The report shows that rational and pragmatic consumption orientations such as "The things I buy are things I really need" have become mainstream choices over a relatively long period of time. At the end of 2023, the "2023 China High-Quality Consumption Report" jointly released by Yaoke Research Institute and Yaoke 108·China High-end Brand Alliance also verified this trend.
Mass consumers who are price-sensitive are becoming more rational and smarter. They began to reject brand premiums, prefer affordability, and pursue minimalist life. As material desires decrease, consumers shift from self-expansion to self-satisfaction, paying more attention to the abundance of the inner world. Driven by rational consumption and emotional life, many young people will no longer be frugal just because of a brand-name bag, and the money saved can be used to improve their inner self. This trend has had varying degrees of impact on society, the economy, the environment, businesses and individual consumers.
The business opportunity behind handbags
Rational and pragmatic "reverse consumption" is driven by many factors, including changes in economic development stages, changes in consumer attitudes, concerns about environmental issues, and changes in individual consumption motivations. It is not only economic and social factors, but also the improvement of cultural confidence and no longer blindness. The result of pursuing big Western brands is a testimony to the evolution of aesthetics in social changes. It can be said that Generation Z “lives more clearly.”
"Reverse consumption" has had a positive transformative effect on the economic and social environment. By carrying the packaging bags of various commodities as handbags, the brand can travel to various scenes with the flow of people and come into contact with more people. Everyone becomes a mobile billboard invisibly. The popularity of packaging bags also allows brand owners to see that as part of the extension of brand value and influence, packaging bags can continue to increase their presence and activity, and create interactive connections with consumers.
“Shenzhen Bao” has become popular, and it has also detonated upstream paper bag manufacturers. At the end of May 2023, Nanwang Technology, a paper product packaging R&D, production and sales company in Fujian, officially opened stock subscription. The prospectus shows that Nanwang Technology will achieve revenue of 1.054 billion yuan in 2022, and more than 5 billion food packages alone will be sold.
Canvas bags and paper bags have quietly attracted different circles due to their practicality, versatility, reusability, and economy. Many foreign friends regard handbags made in China and printed with Chinese characters as "fashion items" and incorporate them into their own outfits, triggering a wave of global trends.
At a time when information is becoming more and more fragmented, it is becoming increasingly difficult to attract consumers' attention, and the difficulty of obtaining traffic is also increasing. From canvas bags and paper bags to "handbags" commonly used by young people, it captures the changes in current consumer culture, satisfies the emotional value of young consumers in addition to product quality, reputation, brand value and other factors, and brings consumers what they need. The sense of satisfaction, value and surprise, thus triggering spontaneous sharing and dissemination by consumers, has become an issue that brand manufacturers and suppliers need to think about. And this opportunity lies in the subtle changes in social consumer psychology.
Half Moon Talk Reporter: Li Xiaoling