Women spend more for better quality of life

A better life has become an important purpose for female consumption, said a 2024 trending report focusing on female consumption released by short-video platform Douyin's e-commerce department on March 6.

During the period of March 1, 2023 to Feb 28, 2024, the number of shopping orders placed by female users in China at Douyin's e-commerce platform increased 65 percent year-on-year, said the report.

Cultural goods, such as accessories with ethnic features, sport products, tea sets, musical instruments and books are more popular among females.

The number of orders for "new Chinese-styles" of clothing bought by the female users surged 195 percent year-on-year, of which the horse-face skirt, hanfu, Song brocade jackets and Gambiered Guangdong silk clothing jumped by 841 percent, 336 percent, 225 percent and 112 percent year-on-year, respectively.

The number of books bought by the female users grew 61 percent year-on-year, with sales volumes of categories in economics, social sciences, medicine and health, as well as law seeing a significant increase.

In terms of intangible cultural heritage products, the purchasing number from female users is 1.45 times that of the same period last year.

The amount of pet products purchased by female users climbed 126 percent year-on-year, with smart devices for pets being the most popular product.

The top 5 Chinese cities with the highest number of orders from female users are Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing, Chengdu in Sichuan province, and Guangzhou in Guangdong province, with each city holding a different preference such as cakes and pastries, bags, and vegetable products in Shanghai; fruit, convenience food and cell phone accessories in Beijing; knitwear, cleaning products and condiments in Chongqing; makeup tools, socks and blouses in Chengdu; as well as T-shirt, makeup products and suits in Guangzhou.

Female users in different generations have different preferences also, with the post-2000s generation preferring makeup tools, digital accessories and fashion jewelry; the post-1990s generation liking children's wear, makeup tools and snack specialties; the post-1980s generation being attracted to socks, cleaning products, fruits and vegetables; and the post-1970s generation preferring grain, cooking oil, skincare products, fresh flowers and green plants.

Products such as flowers, plants and doll bouquets showed a surge in sales, with the number of orders in doll bouquets rising 734 percent year-on-year.

Female users' consumption in sports products saw an increase of 93 percent year-on-year in quantity, with outdoor clothing, stepping machines, yoga related products, running shoes and fishing equipment being the most popular sports and outdoor products.