WORK during the day, watch livestream shopping in the evening and invite friends to live action role-playing games on the weekend. This is the daily life of Chen Miaomiao, a member of Gen Z, which refers to people born between 1995 and 2009.

“Shenzhen has the youngest consumer group in China, who accept new things and new consumer trends more quickly,” Xie Yongming, executive vice president of Shenzhen Retail Business Association, told Shenzhen Economic Daily on Sunday.

Xie added that new consumer trends centering on services, information and fashion are developing rapidly in Shenzhen.

According to public data, Gen Z is the main driving force behind the booming new consumer trends, with the growth rate of Gen Z’s spending on such new trends exceeding 400 percent, said the Daily.

The Gen Z has also driven the new consumer trends in entertainment and catering in Shenzhen. In addition to new tea drinks such as those of HeyTea and Nayuki, high-end coffee brands have also settled in Shenzhen.

Zhang Feimeng, head of the city’s commerce bureau, said in a radio program recently that the Dongmen commercial area in Luohu District will be given a face-lift, and the whole area will be upgraded to not only retain its historical mark, but also attract young people to shop.

According to statistics from the Shenzhen Municipal Statistics Bureau, the city’s online retail sales also continued to grow rapidly. During the January-May period this year, commercial enterprises above a designated size saw a year-on-year increase of 85.6 percent in retail sales through the internet.

“This reflects the industrial advantages of Shenzhen,” Xie was quoted as saying, adding that it is an inevitable trend for Shenzhen, a city of scientific and technological innovation, to promote the application of technologies in consumer spending and the integration of online and offline consumption.

High-quality consumer resources are also being pooled in Shenzhen, the Daily said. According to incomplete statistics from winshang.com, a Chinese commercial and real estate portal, 389 new stores were opened in 40 popular shopping centers in Shenzhen in the first half of 2021.

In particular, 228 new stores opened in the second quarter, an increase of 42 percent compared with the previous quarter.

Data from the city’s statistics bureau showed that from January to May this year, the total retail sales of consumer goods in the city exceeded 370.4 billion yuan (US$57.15 billion), a year-on-year increase of 28.2 percent.

(Zhang Yu)