An army of young women dubbed the “little sisters” is fast becoming a driving force of spending in China, leading to booms in sectors spanning from make-up and athleisure to food, beverages and home appliances.
They are well-educated, and are delaying or just skipping marriage and motherhood, giving them more money and the confidence to spend. Meanwhile these “little sisters” see themselves reflected in popular TV shows. The rising power of well-educated city women in their 20s to 40s is now a hit genre in Chinese mainland TV series and entertainment shows, like the summer hit Sisters Who Make Waves, encouraging them to kick back and splurge on themselves.
As such, “little sisters” are an increasingly important segment of China’s female consumers, who among all age groups account for three out of four purchases in the world’s most populated country.
Collectively, their rising disposable income and aspirations for the ‘good life’ have had a strong impact on demand for cosmetics, duty-free, health care, and mobile games/internet content. More importantly, the ‘little sister’ economy may impact spending by families and children across the spectrum” of e-commerce and entertainment etc.
Women are also increasingly working, having a greater say in household spending decisions, and spending more on themselves. Clearly women are becoming very relevant and important consumers.
