---
title: "2018 Consumption Trends Report: How Different Are the 70s, 80s, and 90s Generations?"
description: "The 70s generation contributes the most to consumption, while the 90s generation is growing rapidly. The 90s lead mobile internet trends, while the 70s and 80s still rely on offline consumption. Consumption in second-, third-, and fourth-tier cities is rising quickly, with Guangdong, Beijing, and Shanghai leading in total contribution."
author: "New Distribution"
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published: "2018-05-07"
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# 2018 Consumption Trends Report: How Different Are the 70s, 80s, and 90s Generations?

> The 70s generation contributes the most to consumption, while the 90s generation is growing rapidly. The 90s lead mobile internet trends, while the 70s and 80s still rely on offline consumption. Consumption in second-, third-, and fourth-tier cities is rising quickly, with Guangdong, Beijing, and Shanghai leading in total contribution.

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**■ Among the 70s, 80s, and 90s consumer groups, who contributes the most to consumption? Who is growing the fastest? How have consumption channels changed?**
The 70s generation is the undisputed leader in consumption contribution, while the 90s generation is rapidly rising. The 90s lead the new mobile internet trend, while the 70s and 80s still rely on offline consumption as their core.
**■ What are the regional differences in consumption?**
Consumption in second-, third-, and fourth-tier cities is rising rapidly. Guangdong, Beijing, and Shanghai rank top three in national consumption contribution. Beijing's 70s generation and Guangdong's 80s and 90s generations are the strongest nationwide.
**■ Who has the highest per capita consumption expenditure? Where does the money go?**
The 80s generation has the highest per capita consumption expenditure. The 70s lead in entertainment and jewelry consumption, while the 80s dominate in dining and accommodation.
**■ With consumption upgrading, what hot consumer products have emerged? What are the preferences of different groups?**
Domestic smartphones are rising strongly, with the 90s showing a "smartphone mania." Smart devices are booming across the board: the 70s prefer drones, the 80s are into smart home, and the 90s favor smart routers. Online fresh food and health equipment sales are booming, with strong demand from the 70s, while the 80s and 90s are catching up.
**■ How have mass consumption concepts changed?**
Credit consumption has become deeply rooted and is now the primary consumption method, with growth nearly twice that of non-credit consumption.
The 19th National Congress report pointed out that we should further enhance the fundamental role of consumption in economic development and cultivate new growth points and new momentum in areas such as mid-to-high-end consumption. In recent years, China has entered a development stage where consumer demand continues to grow, consumption structure is upgrading faster, and consumption is playing an increasingly important role in driving the economy. Retail consumption is showing an upgrade trend from focusing on quantity to pursuing quality, and from tangible goods to more service consumption.
◆ To fully demonstrate the structural changes and trends in China's consumption upgrading, China UnionPay and JD Finance jointly compiled the "2017 Consumption Upgrade Big Data Report."
◆ The report randomly sampled 400,000 active users from UnionPay and JD networks, cross-analyzed data from both sides, tracked consumption trajectories over the past three years, and analyzed the development trends of consumption upgrading from five dimensions: changes in population structure, regional differences, consumption capacity improvement, consumption quality upgrading, and credit consumption transformation. This report does not involve personal data privacy.
01
**************The 70s generation leads in consumption contribution; the 80s and 90s are growing faster**************
  * The 70s generation has always been the primary contributor to total social consumption, accounting for nearly half of the overall transaction scale in 2017;
  * The 70s' contribution is gradually declining, while the 80s and 90s' contributions continue to rise.
02
**The 90s generation is rapidly rising; their consumption growth is twice that of the 70s**************
  * The 90s' consumption amount is growing rapidly, with a year-on-year increase of 73%, far higher than the 70s and 80s, and nearly twice the growth rate of the 70s.
03
**************The 90s lead the mobile internet trend; the 70s and 80s still rely on offline consumption**************
  * The 90s show a significant trend of mobile internet consumption conversion, with mobile internet channel spending exceeding half of their daily consumption expenditure;
  * The 70s and 80s still rely on offline channels for shopping, with nearly 70% of their consumption amount realized offline.
04
**************Consumption in second-, third-, and fourth-tier cities is rising rapidly; growth rate is nearly 1.5 times that of first-tier cities**************
  * In 2017, the growth rate in second-, third-, and fourth-tier cities reached 59%, significantly higher than that of first-tier and new first-tier cities, and the growth advantage is expanding;
  * First-tier cities remain the leader, accounting for 41% of national consumption; new first-tier cities account for 22%; second-tier and third-tier cities each account for about 18%.
05
**************Guangdong, Beijing, and Shanghai rank top three in consumption contribution; Beijing's 70s and Guangdong's 80s and 90s are the strongest nationwide**************
  * Guangdong, Beijing, and Shanghai rank top three in consumption contribution;
  * Beijing's 70s generation is the national champion in consumption scale among their peers; Guangdong's 80s and 90s generations rank first nationwide among their peers.
06
**************Consumption in Central China is rising; Henan and Anhui lead the nation in growth**************
  * Central China, Northeast, and Northwest regions rank top three in growth rate, significantly higher than the national average.
  * In Central China, Henan and Anhui; in Northeast, Jilin and Liaoning; and in Northwest, Shanxi show impressive growth.
07
**************The 80s have the strongest demand, the 90s are catching up; shopping, dining, and entertainment are the main consumption scenarios**************
  * The 80s, who are parents, have the highest per capita consumption expenditure, reaching 62,000 yuan per year; the 90s, as the new generation of consumers, lead in growth rate again;
  * Shopping, dining, and entertainment are the main daily consumption scenarios. Shopping accounts for half of daily expenditure, while dining and entertainment account for 14% and 9%, respectively.
08
**************The 70s lead in entertainment and jewelry consumption; the 80s dominate in dining and accommodation**************
  * Among active sample users, the 70s have the strongest consumption in entertainment and jewelry, while the 80s have the strongest consumption in dining and hotels (accommodation);
  * With the nationwide travel boom, related entertainment, jewelry, dining, and hotel industries have seen consumption growth rates among the highest.
09
**Domestic smartphones are rising strongly; the 90s show "smartphone mania"**************
  * Domestic brands' market share is rapidly increasing, accounting for nearly 60% of the market, and domestic brands are quickly upgrading from low-end to mid-to-high-end products.
10
**The 90s are most willing to spend on phones, truly deserving the title of "smartphone maniacs"; domestic computers are selling fast, with the 80s being the most generous**************
  * Domestic brands' sales are growing rapidly, significantly higher than other brands;
  * The 80s are most willing to spend on computers, with average transaction prices significantly higher than the 70s and 90s.
11
**************Smart devices are booming; the 70s prefer drones, the 80s are into smart home**************
  * Smart devices, as a hot category in the past two years, have seen sales double year after year;
  * Smart home is the favorite of the 80s;
  * The 70s have a special preference for drones;
  * The 90s prefer smart routers.
12
**Online fresh food delivered to your door; the 70s are the main force, the 80s are catching up**************
"Buy fresh food online, no need to run to the market!"
  * In 2017, online fresh food products saw explosive growth, with an increase of more than three times;
  * The family-oriented 70s are the core force in online fresh food consumption, while the 80s are catching up with an absolute advantage in growth rate.
13
**The 70s have the strongest demand for health equipment; the 90s prioritize filial piety**************
  * With age, the 70s' demand for health equipment has significantly increased;
  * The 90s, full of filial piety, also maintain high growth in demand for health equipment, with blood pressure monitors and blood glucose meters becoming popular choices for the 90s to honor their elders.
14
**************Credit consumption is deeply rooted; growth is nearly twice that of non-credit consumption**************
  * Credit transactions have become deeply rooted in daily consumption and have become the primary consumption method;
  * Credit transaction growth is nearly 61%, almost twice the growth rate of non-credit card transactions.
> Data source: The data statistics cover the daily consumption data of 400,000 sample users on the UnionPay network and their consumption data on JD Finance. The UnionPay network data focuses on daily consumption industries including hotels, dining, home appliances, airline tickets, travel tickets, gas stations, daily necessities, entertainment, and jewelry crafts.
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