Pingdaixue has cured every young person with "consumption internal consumption"

Substitution consumption is popular among young people who pursue high cost-performance, but the buyer experience determines its durability, and quality and service must be ensured. Read this article to learn more.

"The little people are doing well and enjoying themselves every day. The free and easy souls are pretending to be frivolous. Hehe, we are enjoying ourselves."

Even after many years, Da Zhangwei's mental state is still very advanced. On Children's Day, in Chengdu, Sichuan, at the "Poor Happy Night" party held by 1688, Da Zhangwei sang the current living conditions of contemporary young people with a song "Poor Happy".

"Poor but happy" is becoming the latest interpretation of the mental state of young people. They may not have much money in their pockets, but it does not prevent them from enjoying life freely and happily.

With entertainment funds running out, young people changed their mindset and drew spiritual nourishment from economical and practical parks, setting off a "20-minute park" craze. Down jacket prices soared, so they hurriedly dug out their parents' military coats and flowered cotton jackets and dressed in a fashionable style. Even if they didn't have the opportunity to watch the NBA live, young people had a way to resolve the problem. They used local materials and held a lively village BA in the village.

Although the outside world is full of pessimistic views on the economic environment, young people have found a unique way to heal themselves, using a positive attitude to eliminate the pain brought about by changes in the external environment.

In the eyes of this generation of high-spirited and confident young people, being happy is the priority, and even if they are poor, they don’t need to hide it, let alone feel ashamed. On the contrary, they openly use the substitution thinking to examine consumption and life, and completely demystify brand logos. The more sober and rational post-95s and post-00s use coupons to save small amounts of money while digging for substitution to save huge amounts of money, truly turning substitution into a science.

1. Substitution = consumption downgrade?

The popularity of the idea of ​​substitute products was once understood by many people as a passive strategy under the tide of consumption downgrade. The development of economic trends forced some consumers to sacrifice their own requirements for quality in pursuit of low prices.

However, if we simply equate substitutes with consumption downgrade, it is actually a superficial stereotype. The reason why substitute products can become popular among young consumer groups is certainly inseparable from the influence of the macro economy, but the fundamental reason is the deep-seated change in consumption concepts.

In the understanding system of modern society, consumption is not just a simple replenishment of demand, but also implies class symbols, community identity and the evaluation dimension of social life.

This generation of young people is confident and relaxed, and they do not need to rely on external symbols to embellish themselves. Because of this, young consumers have less and less faith in brands, and the "premium halo" of international brands is also fading.

When "brand" is no longer the key criterion for consumer decision-making, young people begin to pay attention to the essence of goods and attach more importance to personal real experience. At the same price, they look for the best quality, and at the same quality, they look for the best price. In other words, what young people pursue is the price, but the quality.

Image source: pexels

The liberation of young people's consumption concept has led to the emergence of high-quality and cost-effective products. A large number of good substitutes with the same source, same factory, same craftsmanship and same materials have been spread among young people through social platforms in the form of planting grass and sharing.

For example, on Xiaohongshu and Douyin, many female college students have dug out some clothing factories in Yiwu. They are the same source stores as many women's clothing stores. The quality of the products is exactly the same. The only difference is that the prices are more favorable.

It can be seen that those born after 1995 and 2000 have a more stable and confident core, and no longer passively pursue the "pseudo-refinement" and "sense of ritual" created by commodity marketing. In comparison, they are more able to control consumption decisions, combine their actual needs and inner preferences, and spend every penny wisely.

In the eyes of young people, the principle of "you get what you pay for" is no longer absolutely correct, and the most expensive is not necessarily the best.

2. Replace the popular factory blogger

In March this year, the "Wu Xiaobo Channel" conducted a survey on the consumption of substitute products. Among the 1,352 survey samples, more than half of those born after 1995 and 2000 believed that substitute products were a good way to save money.

Young people who are returning to rational consumption are interpreting a "parity" lifestyle.

Dang Rui, a college student from Chengdu, first learned about 1688 when he was looking for a replacement for a trendy hat. "It is a common belief among college students that they are all attracted to big brands. This is normal. However, big brands are really expensive! So, we will take the initiative to look for some replacements."

"I searched online and found out that this is an e-commerce wholesale platform. Once the word 'wholesale' appears, the things it sells must be very cost-effective. I searched for the same hats of big brands on it. Although there is no logo, I can buy five at the same price!"

Group buying and treasure hunting have become a normalized consumption mode among young people. "Some wholesalers have purchase conditions for supplying goods, and sometimes a minimum of two pieces is required. At this time, I will call on my roommates to group buy together," said Dang Rui.

Young people also have a lot of experience in how to find good products and summarize the strategies for substituting for inferior products. On Xiaohongshu, a large number of factory exploration bloggers are emerging. They share their own shopping experiences and carefully summarize how to avoid pitfalls on 1688, which has attracted the attention of a large number of users.

"There are two key steps to successful treasure hunting. First, look at the origin of the goods. Regions with industrial advantages can better guarantee the quality, technology and design of the goods. Secondly, look at the product parameters. By comparing the various parameters of the products, we can further screen out higher-quality products." Zhenzhen, a blogger with nearly 100,000 fans on Xiaohongshu, generously shared her years of experience in treasure hunting on 1688 with Entertainment Capital Theory.

In addition to treasure hunting, "purchasing" consumption has also become a unique spectacle in the lives of young people. Dang Rui has a deep understanding of this. "In the boys' dormitory, daily necessities such as paper towels, toothpaste, and shower gel are shared. As we all know, shared items are consumed very quickly. Now every two months, six or seven boys from the dormitory will bring large and small bags of things to the dormitory. The dormitory manager even warned us not to open a canteen."

3. If the buyer experience cannot keep up, the trend of substitution will be difficult to sustain

Although substitution consumption can reduce costs to a certain extent, it will inevitably give rise to a series of problems related to quality, craftsmanship, and service.

In fact, many young people are forced to compete with merchants in the process of substituting consumption. Even so, they will still fall into the minefield if they are not careful. On social platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Douyin, there are not only a large number of 1688 good things sharing posts, but also some 1688 mine pit avoidance posts. Even young people who pursue high-cost-effective products will be discouraged by imperfect user experience.

It can be seen that if you want to really do a good job in the business of replacement, it is not enough to have "quality", but also to focus on user service. Only in this way can you finally retain the hearts of young people.

When talking about his first shopping experience at 1688, Dang Rui also said that he waited three or four hours before receiving feedback after sending a message to the seller. "Later I learned that it was the factory owner who replied personally." In addition, 1688's return and exchange service is a disaster area that young consumers complain about the most. The slow feedback, long cycle, and no shipping costs have directly increased the cost of treasure hunting for young people.

In response to the above issues, 1688 has also been quite receptive to advice. In March this year, the platform launched a groundbreaking full-scale promotion of free shipping and free return shipping services. Many users have personally tested and found that generally speaking, for users with good credit and who are not wool-collecting party members, once the platform officials intervene to handle the return and exchange disputes below 30 yuan, they are generally refunded directly.

For the substitute economy, it will be difficult to maintain healthy development if the buyer experience does not improve. To improve the buyer experience, the platform's efforts alone are obviously not enough. For 1688, the key is whether it can convince and drive those source manufacturers who are used to doing big customers and wholesale business to accelerate the improvement of the service level for buyers. This is the key issue for whether it can reap the dividends of this wave of substitutes, and it is also the most difficult issue.

Author: Bukong

WeChat public account: chopped pepper spicy (ID: ylwanjia)