Author：Min Xiu

In the economic downturn, “sheconomy” has begun to rise, Internet giants have entered, and well-known investment funds have swarmed… For a time, women seem to be highly valued.

But is it the truth?

In fact, what behind sheconomy is the attention paid to female consumption.Indeed, women’s consumption is not rational, however, they hold a lot of assets, whether individuals or families.

“There are some women in China who leave me the impression of ‘pet’.”

When Ms. Emily, a German friend, said this, GPLP was startled

“For example, in China, women are enthusiastic about losing weight, being white. They ask men to buy a house, repair a car, or to buy something expensive. In fact, women can buy it themselves. Isn’t this the equivalent of a pet? “Emily said that she couldn’t understand those women in China.

However, in China, with the improving ability to earn money, a new generation of women have long been synonymous with “high-value” people?

What is this all about?

Behind “sheconomy”

The rise of sheconomy is a slow process.
“Sheconomy” first appeared in the public eye in 2007, referring to the economic phenomenon formed around women’s consumption and financial management needs.
In China, data show that compared with 1979, the average income of career women increased by 31%, while that of men increased by 2%. In this regard, some economists predict that by 2024, in the United States and some European developed countries women’s income will exceed that of men.
In July 2017, UBS Wealth Management announced the establishment of an advisory board and a five-year plan to provide better services to female clients. Dr. Mara Harvey, managing director and project director of UBS Wealth Management, said: “In the next five years, women’s total private wealth will grow faster than men’s, and the industry must respond to this change. We bestow a task on ourselves, but at the same time it requires the joint efforts of all parties. The advisory committee will play an important role in shaping the future business,meet the needs of female investors . We hope to provide women investors with expertise and confidence to help them make the best financial decisions and achieve their social impact.”

This is of course a superficial phenomenon. On a material basis, “sheconomy” has been widely recognized in China. However, from a cognitive perspective, many “sheconomy” are obviously not so “sexy.” The sex industry is one of them. For a long time, this is the world dominated by men. However, in recent years, with the participation of female millennials, women in this industry have gradually found their place.
Lin Meng, a 26-year-old girl, is one of them.

Lin Meng probably bought dozens of models, including dildos, jumping eggs, sexy lingerie, role-playing, SM props, Lin Meng talked about her sex toys like she became the “old driver” in this field.

She didn’t even believe that she would accept these things. In fact, she was born in a traditional family and her character tends to be conservative.
This change stems from her boyfriend. She gave him the “first time”, but because of the long-term sexual disharmony, Lin Meng was asked to break up. “I feel pain every time. He feels that he can’t bring me happiness, even hurting my body.” Lin Meng feels wronged and wants to prove that his physique is not born.
After finally buying a number of online paid courses, Lin Meng used specific sex toys and methods to avoid the pain and reached the orgasm.

“The market for fun in everyone’s eyes is very small. We think that only girls who are very open will buy sex toys. No, ordinary women will buy them as long as we grab their attention”, the first one held recently. At the 3rd Adult Industry Summit Forum, Li Ximo inspired many of her peers.
The business of Li Ximo and her colleagues is representing a counterattack of “sheconomy.” In the past, influenced by the traditional feudal ideology, “sex” may still be completely tainted by the filth of the countertop, and the feelings of women in it are not taken seriously. Today, the times have changed.
Just as the rise of Chinese women is a slowly changing process.

Like Li Ximo herself, she was inadvertently masturbating when she was a child, and she became a sexy coach when she grew up. She was never understood by her mother and even severely criticized by her. But now, the mother not only joined the technical advisory group of Ximo Lab, but also brought many doctors, colleagues and friends to her, and even became a client of Li Ximo. “The stories of the girls you talked about on the live broadcast are also my own stories,” the mother once said to Li Ximo.
From the perspective of the industrial chain of sex toys, Ximo Lab is at the end of the channel . Going back to the upstream, “sheconomy” has also led to the development of a number of brands engaged in design and R&D.

Consumption upgrade is women’s world

There is a saying in the investment circle that “the capture of women means the capture pf  consumption.”
Why do you say that?
Because the survey data shows that women dominate about 70% consumption of the general household .For example, many early education institutions in the marketing strategy are starting from the mothers: call the “hot mom”, invite them to free course with the baby, free parent-child activities… When the “hot moms” give their approval, the sale is basically successful.

Of course, the consumption of different women is also different. In simple terms, women in their 20s tend to “selectively” pay, women in their 30s tend to pay for “services”, and women in their 40s for “simple and reliable” consumption.
From the characteristics of consumer behavior, the consumption upgrade of “sheconomy” is mainly reflected in:
One is individualization. More and more women begins to pursue unique products or services that show their uniqueness;
Second, leisure, hourly workers enter many urban families, liberating many women from trivial housewor.Leisure consumption has become a major feature of female consumers;
The third is autonomy. The improvement of women’s social and economic status has further enhanced the self-consumption awareness of female consumers;
The fourth is emotional. Women are naturally more emotional, so those products or services that can resonate with self-psychological needs can easily trigger their impulsive buying behavior, such as the name, appearance, color, style shopping environment of the product, and architectural styles, etc. may all produce emotional resonance.
The fifth is impulsiveness. Relatively speaking, women are more prone to impulse consumption and have greater cognition and sensitivity to brands.

Taking the consumption of young girls as an example, from the perspective of consumption characteristics, a more obvious consumption characteristic of young girls is the consumption pattern of “sku-burning”, which is new and strong. For example, each girl can have 6-7 lipsticks, dress differently each day in a week or buy many bags to match different clothes. For new products at the right price, the threshold for girls’ decision-making is actually not high, and they are willing to try new brands and new products. In the future, this phenomenon will become more and more common. Secondly, the “ceremonial feeling” of young girls is getting stronger and stronger. They often taking pictures of high-value desserts in the cafes and dessert shops with good environment. They will enjoy this sense of ritual; in the end, they are keen on the Internet in terms of consumption, pursuing similarities, that is, containing popular elements, but also requiring product tonality and brand added value, and full of individualization.

Among them, the maternal-and-child economy of post-90s is typical.
In shopping malls either in China or abroad, you will find that the shopping mainstream have a commonality – “the fair-skinned, rich and beautiful ladies”, who will generate a lot of purchasing power once they enter the age of marriage and motherhood,. According to USCensus, nearly half of the “millennials” ( born in 1984-1995) American women have become mothers, of which 71% have their own jobs, and their consumption last year reached $170 billion.The population is increasing.
In China, a parent-child economic research report in 2017 showed that in household consumption, 92.5% of mothers have absolute say in baby consumption, while 65% of family decision-making methods are – mothers demand, and dad to perform.
The post-90s hot moms are completely different from the previous ones. For example, in the information age, these hot moms are keen on oversea shopping. In terms of parenting style, they are used to see all kinds of short, chewed-up, illustrated information, which are even full of small videos.

Today’s hot mom is also very valued beauty economy.
For example, the hot mom Xiao Xiao, relying on her own income as a career woman,is willing to invest in herself.Shortly after the parurition, she spent more than 10,000 yuan on postpartum plastic yoga classes.6 months after her delivery, she also joints a weight loss class.
As a woman of the new era, she will not sacrifice more for the family, but more to find her own independent dignity.
In short, although there’s still a gap between China and western countries in terms of economy, China’s “sheconomy”is emerging.