China News Service, Changsha, March 7th, title: Chinese urban young women are keen to use "pets" to relieve their worries, relieve pressure and urge the pet economy
Author Wang Haohao
"March 8" International Women's Day is approaching, Yang Jing prepared a special gift for herself-a new member of the family "rice ball".
She hopes that this three-month-old grey Teddy pet dog can become her "good life companion".
"Dogs have human nature, and the cute looks make people feel comfortable." "Post-80s" Yang Jing works in real estate sales in Changsha, often "too busy to eat."
To make her home life more interesting outside of her busy schedule, she plans to raise a dog.
As the pace of modern urban life accelerates, the younger generation, especially urban young women, is facing more and more multiple pressures from work, life and family.
The "China Merchants Cigna Life 2020 China Health Index White Paper" shows that Chinese women face pressure from both ends of the workplace and family, and the uncontrollable pressure they receive is nearly twice that of men.
Cats can catch mice, and dogs are good at home and nursing homes. They used to be the "standard equipment" for Chinese rural families.
Nowadays, pets that can "sweet people's hearts" are increasingly capturing the hearts of young Chinese urban women. Cats and dogs are becoming more gentle and delicate female "shit shovel officers" as a new "standard" in life to relieve their worries and stress.
This phenomenon is gestating a business worth 100 billion yuan.
According to iiMedia Consulting's data, the size of China's pet market has doubled from 2015 to 2019, with a compound annual growth rate of 20%.
“The rapid growth of the pet market is a manifestation of the country’s prosperity and the improvement of people’s living standards.” said Tu Di, secretary-general of the Hunan Pet Clinic Industry Association and a Ph.D. from Hunan Agricultural University. Pets are actually not objects, but human hearts. The meaning of family and pet is no longer limited to property, but also a spiritual sustenance.
Regardless of work pressure or negative emotions, cute pets can bring positive energy to female "poop shovelers".
This year, 27-year-old Li Qi met a boyfriend who also loves raising dogs because of raising a dog. The two have a total of three dogs, Alaska, Golden Retriever and Samoyed.
"Going home from get off work, they will rush over to get close to us with a cry of dogs, and instantly drive away the exhaustion of the day." Li Qi said.
There are more and more female "poop shovel officers", and they are constantly stimulating the online pet economy.
JD.com recently released the "2021 Women's Exquisite Pet Raising Guide", showing that female users have become the "main force" in online pet consumption. They buy smart pet supplies, pet spiritual entertainment products, pet health care products, and pet apparel. The amount was increased by 6 times, 3 times, 4.5 times and 2.7 times respectively year-on-year.
Offline pet beauty salons and pet clothing stores are also rapidly deploying.
According to Tu Di, the number of pet-related stores in Changsha is increasing by about 10% to 20% every year.
Those urban women who have limited financial resources or don't have time to raise pets on weekdays choose to "suck cats and dogs" in their free days to relax.
Li Jing, the owner of a cute pet cafe in Changsha, said that most of the people who come to "suck cats and dogs" are girls. Affected by this, some middle-aged and elderly people in the city have also increased their love for pets.
"Interestingly, the number of young people raising cats far exceeds that of dogs. Dogs may compete with people for space to a certain extent, but cats do not." Tu Di said that the structure of pet industry practitioners is also changing. There are only three or four girls in the animal medicine major of Hunan Agricultural University, and now most of them are girls.
Tu Di said that it is foreseeable that pet medicine, food, housing, transportation and other related industries will continue to develop rapidly in the future. The demand for talents, products, and innovations in all stages of the industry will grow rapidly, and the services and products of various branches of the pet industry will continue to grow. Upgrade, its personalized service will be infinitely close to human standards.
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