Loneliness has become a business!

How did the loneliness economy model come about? Under the new business model, the loneliness business has captured the emotions and psychology of many people, and the loneliness economy derived from it is still emerging. This article analyzes the social manifestations of the loneliness economy from two aspects: the driving force of the loneliness economy and the behaviors that alleviate loneliness, and explains the mass consumer psychology behind the rapid prosperity of the loneliness economy. It is recommended for those who are interested in market consumption, marketing, etc.

The birth of a business model is often the result of accurate control of user emotions, which generates collective user behavior and possesses certain commercial value. For example, many people now choose to go shopping, travel, sing karaoke, eat hot pot, drink coffee, watch movies, go to the hospital alone... These constitute the real life of social animals, making "loneliness" a normal part of people's lives, and deriving an economic trend that has been popular in recent years - the loneliness economy.

From the root cause, the current situation of young people drifting, the fast pace of work and life, the high pressure of life, the difficulty in expanding social circles, etc. have made users' lives "lonely" normalized, and also made the "loneliness economy" take shape rapidly. According to statistics from relevant institutions, the current population living alone in China accounts for 16%, which means there is a large derivative loneliness economy market.

01 The driving force behind the development of the lonely economy

The development of the loneliness economy is closely related to social consumption trends and consumer groups.

1. Consumption upgrade

With the development of technology, the increase in the disposable income of Chinese residents, and the influence of the self-pleasing consumption mentality of young groups, the consumption level and structure of users have been upgraded in all aspects.

With the dual support of consumption upgrading and technological development, a person's life can also be more convenient and comfortable. For example, if a person eats out, he can order takeout from Meituan and have a good meal; if a person rents a house and moves, he can choose online Huolala reservations and offline services; if a person travels alone, he can choose apps such as Qunar and Tongcheng Travel to make travel plans and have offline experiences; if he wants to drink coffee or milk tea, they can be delivered to his door; if he lacks any daily necessities, he can choose online shopping, hourly purchase, half-day delivery and other services, which allow users to buy daily necessities without leaving home.

The development of contemporary science and technology has brought about earth-shaking changes in the lives of young people. The various convenient life services provided by life service apps and the increase in users' disposable income have largely met the necessary conditions for a person's life and provided the original driving force for the development of the loneliness economy.

2. The emergence of empty-nest youth

The origin of an economic model comes from the promotion of consumers, and the emergence of the loneliness economy is inseparable from the empty-nest youth. On the one hand, because young people have high life pressure, fast work pace and are willing to choose a solitary lifestyle, their social circle has been limited to a certain extent, making "lonely living" the norm, which also promotes the rapid formation of the "loneliness economy".

On the other hand, the post-95s and post-00s generation are basically only children, and they have basically grown up alone, so this group of people has a solitary mentality. In their opinion, getting along with others will inevitably lead to compromise, so it is better to enjoy solitude. According to relevant statistics, as early as 2018, the number of single people in my country exceeded 240 million.

According to the "Illustrated Guide to China's Empty-Nest Youth", empty-nest youth aged 20 to 39 have avant-garde consumption concepts and a lot of disposable income, so their consumption power should not be underestimated.

According to the white paper "The Loneliness Economy", more than 70% of people consume because of loneliness, and their monthly spending remains between 1,000 and 5,000 yuan. Buying gaming equipment, watching movies, eating big meals, rewarding anchors, SPA, etc. constitute the main forms of consumption for lonely people.

The loneliness economy focuses on lonely young people who have their own thinking and consumption. Some use the excuse of relieving loneliness to convince themselves to consume, while others relieve their loneliness because of the pleasure brought by consumption and establish closer ties with society, thus giving the loneliness economy new meaning and value.

02 The “antidote” to relieve loneliness

In fact, loneliness has always existed and is closely related to human survival. Li Yu said: Don't lean on the railing when you are alone, the mountains and rivers are endless, it is easy to leave but hard to meet again. Gao Shi described: Don't worry about having no friends on the road ahead, everyone in the world knows you. The ancients liked to use poetry to relieve loneliness, and modern people have more ways to relieve loneliness due to the development of technology, the improvement of living standards and income.

1. Direct behavior: Buy, buy, buy

Obviously, urban consumption in the form of leisure, tourism, shopping, fitness, and catering now constitutes the consumption life of many young people, and part of this consumption behavior is to change their loneliness. For example, many economic models represented by night economy, self-pleasing economy, single economy, and pet economy have been innovatively upgraded in retail + experience, allowing consumers to choose to keep buying to relieve stress, kill time, and relax and entertain, and also causing the crazy growth of late-night canteens, open-air parties, taverns, medical beauty, trendy toys and other commercial formats.

In addition, shopping platforms represented by Taobao and JD.com have linked the platform's marketing philosophy with users' emotions, and subtly influenced young people's shopping thinking, making consumers willing to choose to buy to cater to their emotions when they are sad, happy, lonely, joyful, or painful, giving their various emotions the most direct outlet. Naturally, those lonely people also have an alternative social experience.

2. Spiritual communication: focusing on companionship

The pleasure of consumption can, to a certain extent, dissolve a person's negative emotions or amplify a person's happy experience, while those who are empty and lonely will feel lonely when they are alone. Now, the methods represented by theme chats, live broadcast companionship and pet companionship have become an important way for young people to relieve loneliness, and also cover all the leisure, life and spiritual needs of young people.

For example, the popularity of Oriental Selection is largely due to the loneliness of young people, and the live broadcast communication model can just allow the audience to establish social connections with the Internet. Interacting remotely, let someone listen to your ideas; listen to stories, find people who have the same experience as you, and achieve emotional resonance. Obviously, not all those who stay in the live broadcast room have the need to buy, but more of them want to relieve their inner loneliness.

Advertisements that focus on spiritual communication and emotional resonance often become a bridge of communication between brands and users, allowing users to maintain a strong interest in the brand. The two-way rush between users and brands has enabled the economic model centered on companionship to achieve faster growth and has become a common choice for contemporary young people to reduce loneliness.

Final Thoughts

It is obvious that loneliness has now become a business involving all walks of life. From the user's perspective, the loneliness economy is consumption and services targeted at user groups. It is a way for young people to enjoy time alone and to relieve loneliness.

From an industry perspective, the loneliness economy has brought new opportunities and directions for development to many industries. For example, the development of the night economy has given rise to the concept of a "24-hour full economy," where users can learn about the world, shop, and enjoy delicious food without leaving their homes; the development of business formats such as one meal and one song has brought new development ideas to the real estate and entertainment industries; the prevalence of the pet economy has led to the in-depth exploration of related services such as pet hospitals, pet care, and pet photography, and the extension of pet breeding concepts and services to a wider range, promoting the development of new industries; the unprecedented prosperity of the live broadcast economy has provided users with more shopping channels, social methods, and ways to relieve negative emotions.

It can be said that with the change in user consumption concepts and the improvement of consumption levels, brand development is facing a turning point. If you want to overtake others, you must seize opportunities and face challenges, and aim at new consumption, new services, and new scene experiences, follow the trend, and work together for development.

Author: Mr. Bingfa

Source: WeChat public account "Marketing Art of War (ID: lanhaiyingxiao)"