They’ve got money to burn, eschew foreign labels and are driven by a swelling sense of nationalism that can ensnare even the biggest global brands.
They’re China’s Generation Z and they’re shaking up shopping.
The 270-million-strong cohort born since the mid-1990s is already flexing their power: They have the fastest spending growth out of any generation in China, are top buyers of cosmetics and tourism services and have upended online shopping. Their influence will only grow, with spending set to rise fourfold to 16 trillion yuan ($2.4 trillion) by 2035, according to China Renaissance.