BEIJING resident Han Xue has replaced all her home electrical appliances with products made by Xiaomi, a Chinese consumer electronics brand. “The television I have used for years is good quality, and the robot vacuum is convenient and cheap. Now, I can control all of my electrical appliances remotely,” she said. “It’s not that I can’t afford the big international brands, but that domestic products are more cost-effective,” Han said. Her attitude is shared by many Chinese consumers, who, during this year’s Singles’ Day, the world’s largest shopping festival, have shown their preference for Chinese brands and “China-chic” products — products combining fashion with traditional Chinese elements in their design. When e-commerce giant JD.com kicked off its sales event on the evening of Oct. 23, the total transaction volume of domestic Chinese brands such as Xiaomi, Huawei, OPPO, OnePlus and Vivo surpassed 100 million yuan (US$13.93 million) in just one second. Winter clothing has also been a popular consumption category during the annual event. Shortly after the Singles’ Day sales began on online shopping platform Tmall on the evening of Oct. 31, the transaction volume of Bosideng, a popular Chinese down jacket brand, quickly surpassed 100 million yuan. A report on the development trends of Chinese brands released by JD.com earlier this year showed that from 2019 to 2022, the number of consumers purchasing China-chic products increased 74%, and the quantity of such transactions grew 355% over the period. These trends are encouraging more companies to incorporate Chinese elements into their goods and services, said Tian Yulin, an associate professor at Jilin University. According to the report from JD.com, the number of brands producing China-chic products rose 223% from 2019 to 2022. Generation Z is playing an increasingly important role in the consumption of domestic Chinese products, partly due to price advantages compared with many international alternatives. Consumer data from JD.com indicate that during this year’s Singles’ Day sales period, 62% of spending on Chinese domestic products was from consumers born in the 1990s and 2000s. Experts say that an expanding cultural identity among Chinese people is driving the sustained growth of the China-chic economy. And the popularity of domestic products not only represents a consumer trend but also embodies a set of values, life philosophies and lifestyles. A report by consulting firm AlixPartners on Oct. 31 has shown that consumer loyalty to domestic Chinese brands has been increasing in China, with 66 of survey respondents planning to increase their spending on local brands. (Xinhua) | 