Did this generation of young people spend their entire weekend on a 9.9 yuan trial class?

The number "9.9" is as attractive to adults as the second cup at half price or one person gets one free when three people go together. It is not 10 yuan, not 9 yuan, but 9.9, which subtly controls the boundary line of cost-effectiveness. If it is lower, it seems cheap, and if it is higher, it is wasteful.

Wang Na found that the number "9.9" is as attractive to adults as the second cup at half price or one person gets free when three people go together. It is not 10 yuan, not 9 yuan, but 9.9, which subtly controls the boundary line of cost-effectiveness. If it is lower, it seems cheap, and if it is higher, it is wasteful.

The first time she fell in love with 9.9, of course, it started with the 9.9 coffee she drank from Luckin Coffee every week, and then the various 9.9 single meals for new customers that were available everywhere. It seemed that by applying this number, all her consumption desires would be infinitely magnified, and she would inevitably "fall" for the first time.

If you feel like you've found a bargain the first time you try it, then you won't feel like you've been at a disadvantage if you accept the price of 20 the second time. The rule of one makes two and two makes three applies everywhere.

But in the past, 9.9 was generally limited to the catering industry, after all, this industry has low costs and what matters is word of mouth and return rate. So when she saw the "9.9 Equestrian Experience Class" on Douyin, she hesitated because the next column clearly stated that the fee for the second class was 799. But in the spirit of going anywhere after get off work, she still ordered the experience class and rushed to the equestrian club for class the next day.

Wang Na originally thought that this kind of experience class would just talk about equestrian culture, but she didn't expect that the experience was not vague at all. Under the guidance of the coach, she put on boots, helmet and other protective gear, grabbed the reins and stepped on the stirrups to mount the horse. She squeezed her calves against the horse's belly and started galloping in the stable. She was stopped by the staff before she could enjoy riding to her heart's content - the 15-minute experience time was over, and if she wanted to unlock the full experience, she had to pay.

It turns out that the essence of the trial class is that the first 15 minutes of the video are free to watch, and members can watch the full HD. Although I am very tempted to renew, I calculate that it will cost several days' salary for one time. This noble sport is really hard to express my love.

But in the spirit of "getting the most out of every possible effort", Wang Na directly searched for "equestrian experience class" on Meituan and tried several 9.9 clubs. As a result, she was more proficient in the opening steps than anyone else, but after getting on the horse, she was still more nervous than anyone else, with a kind of spirit that made her "dumbfounded after writing her name and test number in the college entrance examination".

In the post “Low-cost methods to increase the richness of life +1”, she learned another trick – she can borrow the accounts of her family and friends to get new customer benefits.

At first, she felt a little embarrassed to use the coupons for redemption, but later she adhered to the attitude that "the key to life is to take action if you are interested". Even if the staff recognized her at a glance, they couldn't do anything to her, after all, she was using the coupons within the rules.

Later, Wang Na's new life plan after get off work expanded more and more - 2.8 yuan dance experience class with best friends, drag colleagues to go; 1 yuan adult piano one-on-one experience class, do it by yourself. "This week's life is more exciting than the past ten years!" However, the most popular on Douban and Xiaohongshu is the hand-brewed coffee experience class. Some netizens complained that "I spent 9.9 yuan on the hand-brewed experience class and was completely de-mystified", while others lamented that "this class is worth it and will come in handy every day in the future." Wang Na silently left a comment, "It seems that the experience class is not just a one-time thing. What you learn and the life you experience are still left to yourself."

"I am the kind of person who likes to try new things, but I tend to lose interest in them after a short period of time. However, I like this feeling very much. I have learned a lot through constant attempts, such as piano, calligraphy, dancing, violin, Japanese, photography, painting, etc. By constantly trying, I have also found what I really love."

After taking the 9.9 photography experience class for the second time, Wang Na gradually stopped other experience classes and devoted herself to mobile phone photography, which is inexpensive. Let the experience class become a copy, and find the code to save the passion in the cycle of upgrading, which may be the "new life plan" pursued by contemporary young people.

01 9.9 Experience Class to Protect Your Wallet

Primary school students have their own interest classes, and adults can certainly find new fun besides Jelly Cat. From the most common vocal music, yoga, and instrumental music to relatively niche equestrianism, Peking Opera, skiing and other projects, low-priced trial classes have flooded into group buying and social platforms, becoming a fleeting universe where young people can enter, exit, and circulate.

"Young people attending night school" once became a hot search on Weibo, but when a large number of people flocked to local night schools and found that the course places were very competitive, the class time was fixed, and the class location was restricted, the trend gradually receded. Now, they flock to shopping malls, clubs and studios to customize their own unfettered "new type of one-on-one night school".

Data from Meituan and Dianping show that from July to September 2024, the search volume for the keyword "experience class" increased by 364% month-on-month. On Xiaohongshu, many netizens have evaluated low-priced experience classes as a substitute for night school. They do not require fast hand speed to grab classes, and the price is cheap. It is a new way to increase the richness of life at a low cost.

Breaking away from the standard shopping mall day of “buying a cup of milk tea, eating a hot pot, watching a movie, and shopping for Lego”, the experience class allows young people who only go between two places to find new hobbies outside the norm and gives themselves a reason to get out of the house on the weekend.

The experience is not good, and the sunk costs are minimized, so you can exit easily without any burden. With the "blessing" of low prices, these "middle-class" projects that you don't usually have the opportunity to touch have instantly become familiar.

Young people often say that they are "fast-paced" in doing things. Their interest comes and goes quickly. The fitness classes that were popular for a while are a lesson for us. After signing up for a monthly membership, they still can't go once a week, and finally they don't want to go anymore. So the trial classes that you can grab and run away from are just right.

The low-priced and short-duration trial classes of 9.9 are gradually ushering in the wave of "increasing the quantity without increasing the price", and are replaced by the full and high-energy trial classes of 19.8 or 29.8. Practicing dance for 60 minutes in the dance studio of Guomao is enough to add filters and match the popular background music of Douyin to post on WeChat Moments; learning to sing popular golden songs with professional vocal teachers, and howling in KTV next time to shock all friends... The main point is to learn and use it now, get the price back, and leave no regrets.

Compared with the "castrated" experience classes that leave you wanting more, this kind of experience class is obviously more evil than the good, allowing young people to be satisfied to the highest point amidst the praises, and then be brainwashed into signing up for the full course unknowingly.

But the most advanced "plucking mentality" is to often walk through the flowers and learn many skills. "The teacher can cram in 800 knowledge points, and there is no need to explain them thoroughly. I will go back and learn slowly by myself." "I never thought about learning a complete dance during the trial class. It is enough to practice a few cool moves." Most of the experience parties believe that the essence lies in "resisting the temptation of sales throughout the process" and "plucking is earning". While "plucking", you must also keep the learning materials to maximize the learning benefits. Shooting experience videos and taking photos of check-ins are ways to increase the value of 9.9 to 99.

02 It is difficult for merchants to solve the puzzle of "retention"

From the moment you sign up for the 9.9 trial class, the game between young people and businesses begins quietly. The clerk will hint in the sales pitch that "the trial class is just the most basic teaching. If you want more advanced skills and more experienced teachers, you can choose paid classes."

But of course the customer can't immediately say "I won't pay anymore" and just keep silent. The teacher is also very smart not to mention the follow-up course at all, and waits until the end of the course before leisurely taking out a price list and saying "so many people are learning here, and trial students can get so many discounts."

Shy customers may give up at this point and agree to go back and think about it out of embarrassment. But young people who often visit trial classes will take the initiative to lower their attitude and say "I'm just playing around" or recalculate their budget in their minds and make up their minds to refuse.

In the battle for wallets with merchants, every hesitation and wavering may lead to defeat. If you accurately grasp the merchants' psychology, the promotion will generally stall after a few attempts. They also pay great attention to their own reviews on review software, "even if they want to sell, they dare not force it."

However, as long as both parties respect each other and the course content is meaningful, most of the experiencers are still willing to cooperate with the merchants' "pay-to-win" rhetoric. "I want to spend less money, but I don't want to listen to other people's sales pitches. How can it be so good?"

They grab what they want and then run away, then change after that. The experience-seeking people are fighting guerrilla warfare among different group-buying software and merchants. They often have three burrows and only have one chance to do so.

From the logic of the source, it is not difficult to guess why merchants launch 9.9 trial classes, that is, to attract potential customers through a trial class and promote subsequent courses during and after class. Most trial classes will state "zero-based teaching" and "low threshold for entry", so that people with social phobia can also gain one-on-one teaching experience and eliminate the anxiety of first contact with new things.

However, even if the trial class is very effective, it may not necessarily convert the target customers. A teacher from an institution complained, "Sometimes I want to teach a new student sincerely, but he says he is a novice and has not taken any classes. As a result, he has already done the poses before the class even starts. This muscle memory cannot be developed without 10 classes." Gradually, my passion was also worn away, but I still had to complete the course according to the prescribed procedures.

After the experience party runs away, what is left for the merchants is the difficult problems of “how to get people who have taken the experience class to apply for cards” and “how to urge new customers to close deals”.

New merchants will fall into traffic anxiety like newcomers in talent shows, worrying that they will "lose fans" and "can't keep fans", but after "withstanding waves of attacks from customers", they will feel relieved, "at least there is traffic and good reviews", "keeping one out of a hundred people who try it is also profitable", "and now it is difficult to find such close contact with potential customers."

Moreover, according to a rough calculation, on the Dianping platform alone, a low-priced trial class of 9 yuan can drive 60-120 people to consume regular classes for a popular dance studio every month. The most direct manifestation of the conversion effect is that 2-5 more classes can be opened each month.

Many businesses are now able to skillfully distinguish between those who come to experience the course and those who really want to learn. The latter are very purposeful and will think about bargaining when they first arrive at the store. They also focus on the results during the class and want to get everything right and lay a good foundation. On the other hand, those who come to experience the course generally don’t have too many ideas about how to take the course. Anyway, if they can’t learn, they will change to another one. If they still can’t learn, they will “cross the border” and learn in another way.

When I'm lucky, three or four out of ten people can become formal students. When I'm unlucky, after a month of hard work, not a single student will remain, and it's a pure loss. But even if I can't make any money, I still have to offer the low-priced 9.9 courses.

After all, dance studios and boxing rings are in bankruptcy, not to mention all kinds of music rooms that have been closed down long ago. If you can't reach customers, there will never be a chance for conversion. No one is irreplaceable in the education industry. Even Dongfang Zhenxuan can make a penny by selling goods through live streaming, not to mention ordinary merchants who are struggling to make ends meet through training.

However, the common point is also obvious. Whether they are experiencers or formal students, most of them just regard singing, dancing, playing the piano and riding horses as a hobby or a kind of social capital. The teachers provide not only skills and means, but also give students enough emotional value. Saying a few good words can get a good comment from customers.

It is normal to praise students for their proficiency in movements, but implying that learning a certain skill will directly lead to a leap in the quality of life and an increase in the value of life is a more advanced "praise rule".

There is no one who does not enjoy being appreciated. The enjoyment of a trial class is comparable to a comeback in a skit. Professional teachers will "online certify" that you are gifted and have a unique skeleton comparable to a hexagonal warrior. You can enjoy the happiness of "losing yourself" in the encouragement, and you don't have to bear the pain of formal students who practice thousands or hundreds of times with little progress. There will always be one out of a hundred people who will immerse themselves in it and stay.

“People with poor self-control are too easy to buy courses and too easy to stay. The sales pitch is not much more advanced than that of those who sold insurance and health products in the past. There are also many ordinary institutions in the industry who just sell emotions under the guise of experience.” The head of a senior dance institution in the industry summarized the current marketing selling points and said that emotional value is the winning rule.

03 Reflecting the new trend of adult training

I opened the door, collapsed on the bed, picked up my phone, and started mechanically browsing my Moments and watching short videos... I didn't have the energy to exercise, and I couldn't get new knowledge into my head. I couldn't even finish watching long TV series or online articles. My former passion has become a burden now, and the "cultural stamina" of contemporary young people has been draining away.

"Cultural stamina" corresponds to "physical stamina", which refers to the energy we save for leisure activities such as reading, further studies, watching movies, reading novels, etc. Nowadays, work not only squeezes the labor force, but also makes workers throw away their previous niche hobbies, which cannot be recovered at all.

Rather than saying that the 9.9 Experience Class has opened up a new lifestyle, it is better to say that it has awakened the long-dormant self, found a psychological fulcrum to rely on, and provided another easy and burden-free solution for people's spare time. The experience class is popular, and the industry is gradually developing into a buyer's market. This fire will burn more and more vigorously.

For example, Offcn Education, which once focused on public service employment training, said it will optimize its business and product structure and reshape its business and profit model this year.

Its sub-brand Offcn has officially launched the "Night School Classroom", which has launched 29 courses covering workplace writing, practical foreign languages, music literacy, health management, beauty and styling, dance, swimming, intangible cultural heritage handicrafts, calligraphy, painting, etc. Each class is controlled at about 1 hour. At present, the main teaching sites are mainly in the teaching bases in Chaoyang, Haidian and Changping areas of Beijing.

Previously, NetEase Youdao officially announced the establishment of the "Youdao Adult Education Division" and migrated the original Youdao adult courses to NetEase Cloud Classroom. At the same time, NetEase Cloud Classroom is also positioned as a systematic learning platform for lifelong learners. Earlier, an app called "Bufan Classroom" was launched on the app store. According to its official website, "Bufan Classroom" is an adult education brand under the online education institution Zuoyebang.

A few years later, the wind of the wind has been blowing, but the brands have disappeared one after another, and the big companies have failed to snatch the "adult traffic" on the fifth floor of the mall. From Youdao Adult Education Division to Offcn, they are all aiming at the adult training cake, but the direction seems to be no longer "going to class" but "adding class". Under the banner of "improving workplace training capabilities" or "cashing in to run a side business", it is inevitable that many young people who want to be simple, relaxed, and want to cut off from get off work after work will have "maximum pressure".

Some netizens also complained, "Don't study hard after get off work, why not just sing and dance?" and "Don't think of salary increase and promotion immediately after taking a class." Perhaps what young people need today may not be elite and professional courses, but lightweight time to simply popularize knowledge and cultivate interests and hobbies.

Although the direction of the adult training industry is still unclear, adults have stronger judgment and autonomy when they are students, so they are "not so easy to fool." They will make their own judgments on whether the teacher is responsible and whether the course is worth it. After all, they have long been trained with sharp eyes in the routines of Meituan, Xiaohongshu, and Douyin.

Whether you spend 9.9 yuan to experience a happy trial class, or sign yourself up for an affordable night school or senior citizen university, it is an attempt for young people to "have fun". There is no need to be too serious. Get happiness from the instant experience of active choice, and find a low-cost "kaleidoscope life". You might as well start with the 9.9 trial class, and the sense of relaxation will quietly knock on the door of your heart.

Author丨An Xiao Editor丨Nut