Emotional consumption and IP economy continue to gain momentum, and Chongqing is ranked among the top ten most vibrant cities for young people to play in the country.
On January 21, the “2025 Life Service Consumption Trend Insights” released by Meituan showed that Chongqing was selected into the top ten cities in the country for young people’s entertainment and vitality, leading a new wave of consumption together with Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and other cities. In 2025, the number of service consumption orders related to happy life on the Meituan platform will increase by 36% year-on-year, of which consumers born after 1995 will account for nearly 60%.
The report points out that young people are defining the quality of life in a more rational and experience-oriented way. “Experience courses” have become a popular choice, with related searches increasing by 70% year-on-year, and the supply of experience courses under 10 yuan increasing by 152%. From spelling and yoga to equestrian and golf, diverse experiences not only enrich skills, but also become an important way to connect with real life.
In terms of accommodation options, bathing centers have become a new choice for young people to spend the night due to their “high cost performance”, and the “bath + late night snack + overnight” package has become popular. At the same time, the concept of “replacement” consumption has further become popular, and related search volume has increased by 26.4%. Shared massage spaces in airports and train stations have become “mobile massage rooms” during travel. Meituan’s newly launched smart massage brand “Lemo Bar” saw order volume exceed 170,000 on the first day of its launch.
Emotional consumption and health concerns have become new trends. The supply and demand for healing services are booming, with search volume and number of merchants doubling, and young people regard them as “emotional band-aids.” Sports and health care are also booming. Traditional physical therapy stores such as moxibustion and massage have grown by nearly 50%. Orders for leisure sports such as badminton, tennis, and rock climbing have increased by more than 90% year-on-year. Among them, rock climbing searches have increased by 60% and transactions have increased by 94%.
The new generation of consumers seeks “just the right distance” in social interactions, driving the rapid development of unmanned self-service businesses. In 2025, self-service KTV transactions will increase by 604%, and night orders will account for more than 40%, becoming a “late-night tree hole” for overtime workers and people returning home at night.
The IP economy shows a strong consumption-driven effect. With the popularity of “Nezha 2”, searches for topics such as “Nezha and Ao Run’s same manicure” have surged. The search volume for “Guzidian” increased 4 times year-on-year, and the search volume for “two-dimensional clothing” increased by more than 983%, showing that young people’s willingness to pay for their passion continues to increase.
In the context of pursuing service certainty, the value of craftsmen is further highlighted. Meituan data shows that 68% of hairdressing users will pay attention to hairstylist information. The number of active hairstylists will increase by 20% year-on-year in 2025, and the number of views of their works will increase by 260%. More than 70% of consumers are willing to travel across cities to buy from craftsmen they trust.
The report shows that my country’s service retail sales will grow by 5.5% year-on-year in 2025. The compound growth rate of happy life-related industries in the past five years has reached 7.4%, while the online rate is only 10.9%, and the compound growth rate of the online part is as high as 35.7%, showing that there is broad space for the digital transformation of service consumption. As the policy of “expanding service consumption” continues to advance, optimizing the supply structure, innovating experience models, and building trust mechanisms are expected to push service consumption into a new stage of high-quality development. As a city with dynamic consumption, Chongqing is continuing to attract young consumer groups through rich and diversified service formats, injecting new momentum into the upgrading of the city’s service industry.
