For the first time, men's spending power exceeds that of pet dogs. Is the "he economy" about to explode?

This year, the spending power of men exceeds that of pet dogs, which is different from previous years. Let's see what the author says~

In 2018, Marco Yuan, co-founder and CEO of Angel Investor Center, ranked the value of the consumer market in a public speech: girls>children>young women>elderly people>dogs>men.

This ranking of spending power has been popular on the Internet for a long time and is often used as a topic of ridicule, leading to the consumption perspective that "men spend less than dogs."

A man uses his wife’s discarded mobile phone and wears his wife’s old pajamas that she is about to throw away at home. “Thermos cup + wolfberry”... that is enough, and the man does not need to consume anymore.

"New Product Finance" noticed that on November 9, the topic "Men's spending power exceeds that of pet dogs for the first time" became a hot search. Where did this hot search come from? How do you view "his consumption" and "his economy"?

1. For the first time, men’s spending power exceeds that of pet dogs

According to the latest Double 11 consumption list released by Tmall, the top three items for male consumers are road bikes, e-sports products and jackets.

During this year’s Double 11, sales of road bikes increased by 305%, sales of e-sports products increased by 114%, and sales of jackets increased by 90%.

According to the data of the “new three treasures” of pet (dog) consumption on Tmall Double 11 this year, sales of whole-price baked dog food increased by 85%, sales of dog milk powder increased by 74%, and sales of freeze-dried dog snacks increased by 58%.

Comparing the data, it is clearly shown that the growth rate of men's consumption of the "new three treasures" far exceeds that of pets (dogs), hence the above hot search.

From City Walk to City Ride, during this year’s Tmall Double 11, sales of “complete bicycles” doubled year-on-year, with the growth in male users increasing by nearly 100% year-on-year.

This year, male consumers achieved "e-sports freedom" on Double 11. According to data, from October 31 to November 5, the transaction volume of Tmall flagship stores of brands such as Wolf Spider, VGN, and Republic of Gamers increased by more than 100% year-on-year.

The third place is the outdoor equipment jacket, which has become a hot topic many times this year, and male buyers contribute 90% of the sales.

Some netizens commented that after looking at the Singles’ Day spending rankings, men’s spending finally surpassed that of dogs. Some netizens even joked that the curse of men being inferior to dogs has finally been broken.

The above data shows that men's spending power exceeds that of pet dogs for the first time, which also means that men's influence and spending power in the e-commerce consumer market have been significantly improved.

2. Who says “his consumption” is not as good as “her consumption”?

Topics about male consumption have always been much less popular than those about female consumption, but this does not mean that male purchasing power is low.

In the view of "New Product Finance", there are actually obvious differences between male consumption and female consumption, which needs to be viewed comprehensively from different aspects and perspectives.

First, starting with the portrait of “his consumption”, male consumers, especially the new generation of young male consumers, have become a market force that cannot be ignored.

Consumption has entered an era of younger people, including a new generation of young men, mainly those born in the 1990s, 1995s, and 2000s. They are all young people who have just entered society and are in the rising stage of their careers.

Young male consumers focus on cost-effectiveness, want to be different, and pursue trends. They spend when they should and save when they should. This is a typical self-pleasing consumption.

According to the "2023 Male Consumption Insights Report" released by QuestMobile, as of April 2023, male users accounted for 50.5% of all network users, with a total of 611 million users, and first-tier, new first-tier, and second-tier cities accounted for nearly half.

Second, the areas and categories of "his consumption" and "her consumption" are obviously different. They have absolute or greater advantages in the right to speak in multiple market segments, and are gradually gaining more say in multiple segments.

Overall, in the fields of digital products, home appliances, live entertainment, investment and financial management, games, IT electronics, new energy vehicles, etc., male consumption accounts for a larger proportion and has a clear advantage.

Among new energy vehicle consumers, users aged 25 to 35 account for 47.2%, of which about 71% are male. Among potential customers, users aged 25 to 35 account for an even larger proportion, exceeding 50%, of which male users account for more than 93.5%. It can be seen that men are the main force of new energy consumption.

In terms of sports and health consumption, whether it is traditional fitness exercises or outdoor camping, skiing, extreme sports, etc. that have become popular in recent years, young men are also the main consumers, purchasing fitness equipment, smart electronic products, sports shoes and clothing, etc.

This has also attracted a number of international brands to enter the Chinese market. For example, high-end outdoor lifestyle brand KOLON1973, Australian surfing lifestyle brand TCSS, Topgolf Sports and Entertainment Center, Danish cycling wear brand Pas Normal Studios and other foreign outdoor brands have successively opened their first stores in the Chinese market.

Nowadays, men are more and more fond of beauty, and their consumption of beauty and skin care products is also increasing. This has given rise to domestic brands such as Li Ran that focus on men's consumption, supporting the rapid development of these brands. International beauty brands such as DIOR and ARMANI have also joined the men's beauty consumption track.

Third, “his consumption” has become more diversified, online consumption capacity has accelerated, and consumption concepts have kept pace with the trend.

Compared with the richness of "her consumption", "his consumption" is not that much and has been ridiculed for a long time. However, this situation is changing.

The "2023 Male Consumption Insights Report" shows that male users are shifting to first- and second-tier cities, and more male users have enhanced their online consumption capabilities. The proportion of male users on various e-commerce shopping platforms has increased.

Men's online consumption patterns are more diversified and have strong social and entertainment attributes. For example, male users show a strong interest in information, games, and live entertainment. Communities such as IT, motorcycles, games, and cars are men's home turf.

Men's consumption concepts keep up with the trend. Whether it is in short videos, Xiaohongshu, or live streaming, men are also easily influenced by various factors and can't help but consume.

On the app Dewu, which is known as the male version of "Little Red Book", user data shows that male users under the age of 35 account for as high as 86%.

3. Is the “he economy” about to explode?

Recently, a real-life interactive love simulation game called "It's Over! I'm Surrounded by Beautiful Women" has become popular and has swept the entire Internet, fascinated many male players, of which more than 90% are male users.

Chen Yurong, the producer of this game, said in an interview with "Daily Economic News" recently that when most people are targeting women's emotional consumption, they found through short videos, short dramas, live broadcasts, etc. that the male emotional consumption market happens to be a vacant market.

The popularity of this game shows that male consumers need services with emotional value, which directly reflects that more market segments of male consumption are worth exploring in depth.

Male consumption, whether it is the traditional clothing market, electronic products, games, etc., or the currently popular new energy vehicles, and the rising male appearance consumption, there are business opportunities in every market segment.

Fu Yifu, an analyst at Suning Financial Research Institute, said in a special report that the male consumer market has become a new blue ocean of consumption. Against the backdrop of the rise of the middle class, the expansion of mobile Internet, the upgrading of personalized needs, the increasing maturity of the post-85s and post-90s, and the increasing proportion of older single men, the "he economy" is expected to usher in long-term sustainable growth.

In short, the "he economy" is rising rapidly and will become the next long-term consumption explosion point in the future.

Author: Wu Wenwu WeChat public account: Xinpinlue Finance