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Cash is disappearing from daily life across Southeast Asia. In 2019, nearly half of all transactions in Asia were made in cash. By 2027, that figure is expected to fall to just 14 percent, according to the Bank for International Settlements. Mobile wallets—once a convenience—are now overtaking physical currency as the region’s default mode of payment.

This isn’t just a shift in how people pay. It’s a full-blown rewrite of Southeast Asia’s consumer economy. From Bangkok to Manila, behavior, access, and mobility are being shaped by QR codes, app-driven incentives, and an ecosystem of competing fintech platforms racing to own the checkout moment.

The scale of adoption is staggering. In the Philippines, over 90 million people—around 80 percent of the population—use GCash or Maya, according to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. In Indonesia, QRIS transactions surged to 2.7 billion in 2024, up 66 percent from the year prior, based on data from Bank Indonesia.

Thailand logged more than 16 billion PromptPay transactions in 2023, cementing it as the country’s most common payment method. In Singapore, the SGQR system now supports over 30 digital payment schemes, allowing users to scan a single code and choose their preferred app—no cash, no card, no friction.

Unlike China and India, where single players dominate, Southeast Asia is shaping a multi-platform economy. Consumers aren’t just going digital; they’re actively choosing between wallets based on rewards, speed, and the ecosystem of services attached to each app.

The Regional Play

A landmark pact between five ASEAN countries is turning mobile payments into a regional system. Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines have linked their QR code schemes, enabling cross-border wallet use. A Filipino tourist in Bangkok can pay with GCash. A Thai traveler in Singapore can use PromptPay. No currency exchange. No new app. Just scan and go.

This isn’t just symbolic cooperation. It’s a practical leap toward regional commerce at digital speed. Consumers already expect to scan and pay anywhere. Now, the infrastructure is catching up.

More than 100 million tourists visited ASEAN countries in 2024. Many of them already live cashless at home—and now expect the same abroad. For small businesses, cross-border payments mean a wider market without new infrastructure. A QR sticker and a smartphone are all it takes.

Policymakers see this as just the beginning. Cross-border wallet use could soon expand to remittances, regional e-commerce, and subscription billing. Southeast Asia is quietly building the infrastructure to support a truly interoperable digital economy.

Platform Power and Wallet Wars

Beneath all this infrastructure is a more urgent contest—one for daily dominance. Wallets are no longer just payment tools. They are retail ecosystems, vying for attention, behavior, and loyalty.

In Indonesia, ShopeePay, OVO, and Dana are locked in a three-way race, each tying payments to e-commerce, food delivery, and retail perks. In the Philippines, GCash leads with over 90 million users, while Maya carves out a younger audience through crypto, banking, and cashback. GrabPay holds ground in Singapore and Malaysia by weaving payments into transport and everyday services.

These wallets don’t just process payments. They offer credit, savings, loyalty points, insurance, and instant promotions. Consumers now choose where to shop based on who gives the better deal—not who’s closest or cheapest.

Brands are adapting fast. Retailers are building in-wallet offers and flash deals to stay top of mind. Banks are co-branding products to remain visible inside apps. In this economy, platform presence can matter more than price point.

Wallet ecosystems aren’t just changing how people pay—they’re changing how people choose. As competition heats up, the most powerful wallets are becoming retail platforms in their own right, collapsing the gap between promotion and purchase.

How Brands Are Winning in the Wallet Economy

Jollibee x GCash: Scaling Speed and Spend with QR Exclusives

Jollibee has turned mobile wallets into more than just payment tools. In early 2024, the Filipino fast-food giant piloted QR-only express counters in busy Metro Manila stores—accepting GCash exclusively for walk-up orders.

The results were immediate. Checkout times fell by 30 percent on average, with lunchtime throughput increasing by nearly 20 percent in the busiest branches. But the real advantage was behavioral. GCash-linked promotions—including “buy one, get one” bundles for specific meal sets—drove higher ticket sizes and repeat visits. Jollibee reported a 12 percent lift in average order value among wallet users compared to traditional cash or card buyers during the campaign window.

Beyond volume, the partnership gave Jollibee something more valuable: clear usage patterns. It tracked conversion by time of day, adjusted promotions instantly, and mapped how wallet users shop differently. The model offers lessons beyond fast food. QSR chains across the region are now experimenting with QR-linked incentives to boost order volume and loyalty.

Unilever Vietnam x ZaloPay: Closing the Loop on Sampling and Segmentation

Unilever Vietnam used mobile wallets for more than sales—it used them to test, learn, and refine. In a 2024 pilot with ZaloPay, the brand launched a digital sampling campaign for its new “urban essentials” personal care line targeting Gen Z professionals.

Consumers claimed samples directly through the ZaloPay app, but redemption came with a short quiz and opt-in to Unilever’s official account. In just three weeks, over 150,000 users participated. Of those, 17 percent converted to purchase. More importantly, the campaign delivered real data: which products got tried, how long users waited, and who came back to buy.

Traditional sampling often delivers little feedback and a lot of waste. This campaign flipped the script. For FMCG brands, it’s a path forward—less sampling waste, more segment-level insight, and faster market-readiness. It wasn’t just about targeting—it was about validating what a new segment actually wanted.

Wallets as Retail Real Estate

In Southeast Asia’s evolving consumer economy, mobile wallets are becoming the new shelf. They are visible, contextual, and central to purchase decisions. No longer just the endpoint, they’re shaping what happens before the sale is even made.

Wallets are now where discovery happens. Real-time promos, loyalty rewards, and flash deals make QR apps as influential as in-store signage. In Indonesia, ShopeePay’s “Deals Near Me” surfaces location-based offers that nudge shoppers toward one convenience store—or one coffee shop—over another.

UX Design is now strategy. What shows up on the payment screen—bundled meals, upsells, time-limited offers—can shift behavior in seconds. In a recent survey, 62 percent of Southeast Asian wallet users said an in-app offer had changed their purchase decision in the past three months.

Brands are responding with wallet-native campaigns. In the Philippines, GCash partners with major retailers to launch app-exclusive bundles. In Vietnam, FMCG players are testing ZaloPay-only SKUs to gauge price sensitivity among mobile-first Gen Z consumers.

For marketers, this changes the playbook. Campaigns now live inside the moment—built into the wallet, not broadcast through media. And just like endcaps in a store, wallet placement is scarce, valuable, and judged by performance.

How Digital Wallets Are Closing the Financial Gap

While wallets compete for urban customers, they also unlock access for millions previously excluded from formal finance. The World Bank estimates that over 40 percent of adults in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam remain unbanked. Mobile wallets are changing that.

Street vendors, farmers, and gig workers are now building financial histories with every tap. In Indonesia, over 29 million small businesses use QRIS to accept payments. In the Philippines, GCash delivers welfare payouts, subsidies, and remittances, often to people who’ve never walked into a bank.

This shift is producing an entirely new class of consumers. They’re connected but overlooked—digitally fluent but invisible to most traditional marketing models. For researchers, the challenge now is to understand how financial access rewires habits and reshapes trust.

Wallet adoption may be booming across the region, but no two markets look alike. Some are dominated by one or two players. Others support overlapping apps, bank wallets, and homegrown fintechs. The variation speaks to different consumer needs and regulatory choices.

Comparing Wallet Ecosystems Across ASEAN

Country	Dominant Wallets	Notable Features	Estimated Adoption
Indonesia	Dana, OVO, ShopeePay	QRIS compliance, local cashback, offline ubiquity	70–75%
Philippines	GCash, Maya	Microloans, utility payments, crypto access	80–85%
Thailand	PromptPay, TrueMoney	Linked to national ID and digital welfare payouts	90%+
Singapore	GrabPay, PayNow, DBS PayLah	High QR interoperability, cross-border ready	95%+
Malaysia	Touch ‘n Go, Boost	Toll road integration, state-backed incentives	80%+

Sources: Central bank data, World Bank Global Findex (2024), platform reporting

What This Signals

The wallet boom in Southeast Asia is not a trend—it’s a system reset. It’s changing how value flows, how behavior is tracked, and who gets included.

Consumers are gaining fast access to finance, but only through platforms that decide the terms. Governments see more. Banks lose ground. Retailers shift strategy. But the risks are real—ecosystem lock-in, data monopolies, and a widening gap for the disconnected.

Southeast Asia is building the prototype for a fully digital consumer economy. What works here won’t stay here. Markets with similar demographics will follow—some already are.

As wallets become embedded in daily life, they generate a stream of behavioral data that most traditional research methods cannot easily replicate. For brands and researchers alike, this shift is not just an operational upgrade—it is a structural advantage.

Who Gets Left Behind in a Wallet-Led Economy

Not everyone is tapping phones or using QR codes. Across Southeast Asia, millions still rely on cash, not by choice, but by necessity. As digital systems race ahead, they are leaving some consumers behind.

The elderly, rural communities, and informal workers without smartphones or stable internet still make up a large share of the population in countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. For many, wallets remain either out of reach or out of trust.

Even in cities, resistance is growing. Consumers worry about data tracking, fraud, and hidden fees. In Thailand, a watchdog recently warned about wallet-based lenders targeting young users with high-interest loans disguised as pay-later perks.

Cash still offers something digital doesn’t—trust. In many traditional communities, handing over bills is easier, more familiar, and more accepted. As merchants go digital, cash users risk being pushed out of the transaction altogether.

Governments face a balancing act: modernize finance without deepening exclusion. Incentives for wallet use should not come at the cost of cash access, especially in rural or unbanked areas. For brands, the solution lies in hybrid systems that serve both digital adopters and cash loyalists.

The danger of a wallet-led economy is not that it moves too fast, but that it forgets who isn’t coming along. Progress will be measured not just in QR checkouts, but in how well the new economy includes the voices, habits, and limitations of every consumer.

A View from the Future Consumer

Southeast Asia is not just adopting digital finance—it’s rewriting the rules. While Europe debates regulation and the U.S. sticks to cards, this region is designing a payment system that is mobile, fast, and increasingly borderless. Consumers aren’t waiting for banks to evolve. They’re building the next model themselves.

For brands, the implications are clear. The old playbook—national campaigns, static rewards, and linear funnels—no longer works. Today’s consumers jump across apps, currencies, and contexts without hesitation. The winners will meet them there, designing not for convenience, but for relevance at the point of payment. Pricing isn’t set in advance. It’s surfaced in the moment—shaped by wallet prompts, bundled rewards, or time-limited offers.

For researchers, this landscape offers something rare: behavior in real time. Every wallet tap leaves a trackable decision—what was bought, where, when, and how the user was nudged. But knowing what happened is not the same as knowing why. That’s where research matters most. Ethnography, cultural fluency, and journey mapping are the tools that explain what dashboards alone can’t.

Research must move faster, go deeper, and sit closer to where decisions are made—in wallet ecosystems, in platform partnerships, and in the fast-evolving lives of Southeast Asian consumers.

Some brands are already blending behavior data with on-the-ground insight. In Vietnam, a beverage company spotted rural sales spikes through wallet data. Field interviews revealed the link: payday loans disbursed on the same day each month. That single insight reshaped everything—from promo timing to pack size.

The next breakthroughs in understanding consumers won’t come from dashboards alone. They’ll come from pairing live data with lived experience—decoding what people do and why they do it. The future of research isn’t digital by default. It’s embedded, agile, and built inside the systems where decisions happen.

Consumer power is shifting from income to intuition—from how much people spend to how fluently they move through the ecosystems around them. Southeast Asia isn’t adapting. It’s leading.

Kadence International helps brands decode evolving consumer behavior across Asia and beyond. To understand what drives tomorrow’s decisions, talk to our team.

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Thailand is embarking on a bold economic initiative that intertwines fiscal stimulus with digital innovation. The government has launched a digital wallet scheme, providing eligible citizens a one-time payment of ฿10,000 (approximately USD 275). This initiative aims to invigorate local economies and accelerate the nation’s transition to a cashless society.

The program is being rolled out in phases, with the third phase targeting 2.7 million young individuals aged 16 to 20. These recipients will receive the funds through the Thang Rath app, a government-developed platform to facilitate digital transactions. The funds are intended for use within local communities, with certain restrictions to ensure the money stimulates domestic consumption.

Thailand’s digital wallet initiative aims to stimulate economic activity and promote digital transactions. The program’s first phase targeted 50 million citizens aged 16 and above, each receiving ฿10,000 (approximately USD 275) through a digital wallet. This approach is designed to encourage spending within local economies and accelerate the country’s shift towards a cashless society.

Thailand’s digital wallet program is a significant case study in integrating fiscal policy with digital technology. By distributing funds through digital means, the government stimulates the economy and encourages the adoption of digital payment systems, potentially influencing consumer habits and financial behaviors.

From Handout to Handset

This is money designed to move markets. Thailand’s ฿10,000 (USD 275) digital wallet credit is distributed exclusively via mobile apps. It has clear boundaries: it must be spent within a designated time period, in specific geographic areas, and only through participating merchants equipped to handle digital payments. The delivery mechanism is the government-backed Thang Rat app, which uses national ID verification to register users and link them to eligible purchases.

The program injects short-term liquidity while strategically embedding digital transactions into routine life. Access requires digital fluency – scanning codes, verifying identity, and transacting within the PromptPay ecosystem. The interface has been streamlined for ease, but the implications are layered. Thailand is accelerating the normalization of app-mediated spending across demographics and regions.

Financial institutions and major digital wallet providers are working behind the scenes to integrate merchant systems and stabilize the transaction flow to ensure rapid uptake. This isn’t limited to major retailers. Many small vendors, from noodle stalls to corner pharmacies, are registering to accept payments. The digital wallet scheme demands not just consumer participation, but full-scale merchant onboarding into a cashless economy.

This is a behavioral leap for millions of Thais who still rely heavily on cash. But for younger recipients, the transition feels intuitive. Many live on their smartphones, accustomed to social commerce, e-wallet promos, and gamified savings. What the government is effectively doing is placing a financial incentive on behavior they’re already inclined to adopt.

In this way, the program is a behavioral nudge packaged as an economic policy. It’s teaching people how to spend in a new way, and rewarding them for doing it quickly.

A Timed Windfall for Local Commerce

Businesses across Thailand are preparing for increased consumer spending driven by the digital wallet program. The requirement for funds to be used within a specific period encourages immediate spending, prompting merchants to adjust their pricing strategies and promotional activities accordingly.

Food stalls are printing QR codes, retailers are adjusting shift schedules, salon owners, café managers, and shopfront vendors are updating signage to remind passersby that e-wallets are accepted here. The shift is visible and urgent in provinces where cash has long dominated daily transactions.

In Bangkok’s inner districts, chains and convenience stores are doubling down on digital promotions. Buy-one-get-one offers, bundled discounts, and mobile flash sales are being calibrated to coincide with the disbursement dates. The psychology behind it is clear: create immediacy, trigger impulse purchases, and keep consumers in-app and on-premise.

Meanwhile, mom-and-pop stores in Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, and Phuket are entering the formal financial ecosystem for the first time. Participation in the program requires digital onboarding. The upside: access to new customers flush with government-backed spending power. The risk: failing to move quickly could mean missing the wave altogether.

Consumer behavior is expected to be fluid but focused. Analysts anticipate that essentials and small indulgences, like meals, home goods, and personal care, will dominate early spending. But discretionary categories, especially fashion and electronics, could also benefit, particularly if retailers tailor offerings to fit within the ฿10,000 bracket.

This is a demand surge programmed into the system. Every player, from a street vendor selling grilled pork skewers to a regional supermarket chain, is being pulled into a countdown economy, where readiness and responsiveness could decide who gains and who gets left behind.

Digital Payments Go Mainstream in Thailand

The timing of Thailand’s digital wallet rollout is no accident. With PromptPay already embedded into daily life through peer-to-peer transfers and utility payments, the infrastructure for mass adoption was quietly laid years ago. What’s happening now is a sudden acceleration, where digital payments are no longer a convenience, but a condition for participation.

The mechanics are simple: the digital credit can only be spent via QR code transactions within the Thang Rat app or partner platforms. While younger, tech-savvy consumers may find the digital wallet system intuitive, older demographics and small businesses in semi-urban or rural areas face challenges in adopting this technology. Efforts are underway to support and educate these groups to ensure inclusive participation in the program.

This forced familiarity is a powerful lever. In previous government subsidies, such as the “Half-Half” co-payment scheme, uptake of digital payments spiked, but often reverted once the incentive expired. The difference this time lies in scale, urgency, and exclusivity. With no offline alternative, digital behavior becomes the default.

Retailers, both large and small, are expanding their digital loyalty ecosystems, leveraging infrastructure that’s already in place. Meanwhile, independent merchants are being trained through government-led and private sector initiatives, many of whom accept mobile payments alongside cash for the first time.

There are structural benefits too. Digital transactions bring transparency, reduce leakage, and pull more activity into the taxable economy. For financial institutions and fintech platforms, it’s a rare moment to onboard users en masse, expand digital credit histories, and introduce adjacent services like microloans and savings tools. What was once novel, QR payments and app-exclusive deals, is now baseline behavior. Habits form, preferences evolve, and expectations reset.

For Thailand, this isn’t just about going cashless. It’s about normalizing a new rhythm of consumption, one mediated by apps, verified by biometrics, and reinforced through constant interface with digital payment systems.

Programmed Consumption and the Rise of Directed Demand

Thailand’s digital wallet program doesn’t simply encourage spending; it shapes it. By placing parameters on how, where, and when the ฿10,000 can be used, the government has introduced a form of economic steering rarely seen at this scale. Unlike traditional cash stimulus, which relies on recipients to allocate funds freely, this initiative narrows consumer choice and concentrates activity into predefined lanes.

The logic is deliberate. Restricting usage to local businesses prevents capital leakage to international e-commerce platforms. Limiting the timeframe creates urgency. Requiring digital payment methods brings consumers and merchants into closer contact with formal financial systems. By specifying where and how the digital wallet funds can be used, the government effectively directs consumer spending towards specific sectors and regions, aiming to boost local economies and encourage digital payment systems.

This creates a behavioral moment for consumers. Faced with a ticking clock and a limited range of vendors, they are more likely to make purchase decisions that are reactive, needs-based, or convenience-driven. This doesn’t eliminate agency, but it does channel it. The consumer becomes a participant in a curated economic script.

Retailers are adapting quickly. Some design promotions that align with the wallet’s value cap, offering bundles or tiered discounts pegged just under ฿10,000. Others are integrating in-app incentives, such as exclusive digital deals or gamified rewards. It’s not a one-off campaign. It’s a moment for brands to convert compliance into long-term connection.

There are also downstream effects. Data trails emerge as millions engage in digital-first transactions over a condensed period. Purchase preferences, time-of-day activity, and location-based behavior are logged in real time. This creates a trove of behavioral insights for tech partners and financial services firms, potentially reshaping how credit scoring, product development, and localized marketing unfold in the months ahead.

Similar experiments have been attempted globally, particularly in conditional cash transfers. But Thailand’s version is uniquely digitized, centralized, and transactional. It offers a test case in how programmable money can accelerate economic recovery and behavioral adaptation.

Understanding how different consumer groups respond to this stimulus is essential for long-term strategy. Young adults, already comfortable with mobile interfaces, adapt rapidly, but older consumers may show resistance or partial adoption. Rural users face infrastructure gaps that could slow uptake or reshape spending patterns around trusted local merchants. Urban Gen Zs may spend impulsively and favor experiential categories, while Gen X participants lean toward utility-driven purchases. These behavioral distinctions matter for segmentation, pricing, and product development, particularly as brands look to refine future targeting based on wallet usage data.

New Norms in Marketing and Merchandising

The digital wallet program is forcing businesses in Thailand to rethink the fundamentals of how they market, merchandise, and manage demand. Digital credit may be temporary, but behavioral ripple effects influence how brands present themselves online and in-store.

At the heart of this transformation is timing. With a strict window in which the funds must be used, consumer attention is compressed. That changes the marketing calculus. There’s no luxury of a long lead funnel or sustained brand storytelling. Campaigns must hit fast and deliver clear value. QR codes aren’t just payment methods; they’re now marketing triggers, embedded in posters, flyers, and social posts that tie spending to immediacy.

Product curation has also shifted. Brands are building product bundles priced just below the ฿10,000 threshold, creating psychological cues for consumers to spend the full amount. Some offer flash deals that reset daily, while others push limited-time bundles through retailer apps or LINE commerce channels. These are not just promotions but engineered conversions calibrated to align with the digital wallet framework.

Inventory planning, too, has become more dynamic. Mid-sized retailers and national chains are using digital dashboards to track wallet-driven demand in real time, enabling rapid stock reallocation. Categories like food delivery, personal electronics, cosmetics, and small household appliances are spiking, especially among younger consumers already fluent in app-centered shopping habits.

The new challenge is coherence for businesses operating in both physical and digital spaces. Messaging must be synchronized across touchpoints, inventory systems must be tightly integrated, and customer service needs to anticipate a wave of first-time digital shoppers. This isn’t just a surge; it’s a behavioral onramp for consumers who have never interacted with a loyalty program or browsed a brand’s offerings through an app.

Loyalty itself is being redefined. With state-funded money in play, consumer allegiance becomes fluid. People are less concerned with brand heritage and more focused on price, accessibility, and in-app rewards. The brands that win in this window may not be the ones with the longest history, but the ones that adapt fastest to this new consumption model.

A Testbed for Market Entry and Innovation

Thailand’s digital wallet stimulus is becoming a live laboratory for market entrants and tech innovators. The initiative presents a rare opportunity to observe real-time consumer responses at scale, under state-structured conditions, by creating a compressed environment of digitally enabled, time-bound consumption.

This moment offers more than a demand bump for global brands and startups exploring Southeast Asia. It provides behavioral proof points. Which price points resonate with a digitally empowered consumer base? How do young adults prioritize purchases with a fixed wallet balance and expiration date? What formats – QR discounts, app-based coupons, social-first promotions – translate into immediate action?

For global brands operating in Thailand, the closed-loop nature of the wallet system introduces new constraints. Transactions are restricted to pre-approved domestic merchants using Thai QR payment infrastructure, sidelining international platforms and foreign e-commerce flows. This forces global players to rethink their localization strategy, not just in language or pricing but also in payment compatibility, compliance with local fintech protocols, and partnerships with Thai digital ecosystems. Without local enablement, access to wallet-driven demand is effectively off-limits.

These are questions that typical market entry research can only approximate. But in Thailand right now, the data is unfolding in real time.

Retail tech platforms are already responding. Point-of-sale solutions are being retrofitted to accommodate PromptPay and Thang Rat app syncing. Loyalty software providers are rolling out integrations tailored for the short-term stimulus. Meanwhile, financial institutions are watching new patterns emerge around credit top-ups, digital wallet storage, and tiered savings, insights that could inform broader regional product development.

For brands considering market entry, the digital wallet rollout reduces uncertainty. It forces clarity around key operational requirements: payment infrastructure compatibility, smartphone-optimized UX design, local partnership strategy, and promotional agility. Previously theoretical risks like payment fragmentation and uneven digital engagement are unfolding in real time, offering rare visibility.

There is also a broader story unfolding around interoperability. Local players that capture wallet-based spending may quickly gain bargaining power in distribution deals or tech partnerships. New winners could emerge, not just based on product strength but also on their ability to move quickly, adapt nimbly, and serve a new type of Thai consumer who expects digital fluency as the norm.

In this way, the program becomes more than a fiscal initiative. It is a proving ground for what works in digitally conditioned economies, and a barometer for how brands, especially those eyeing ASEAN growth, should rethink their playbooks.

Beyond the Wallet

The digital wallet program is temporary, but the behavioral architecture it introduces is anything but. Thailand’s push toward app-based, conditional cash disbursement may be a one-off stimulus. Still, it functions as a prototype that could shape the long-term relationship between consumers, digital ecosystems, and the state.

At a policy level, it hints at future mechanisms for targeted fiscal relief. With a national app tied to ID verification, merchant QR capability, and geofenced rails, Thailand has the infrastructure for agile, targeted interventions. Imagine fuel subsidies issued directly to drivers’ wallets, or education grants tied to purchases at approved vendors. Thailand is effectively building the scaffolding for programmable transfers that move beyond welfare and into consumer engineering.

For brands, this shifts the horizon. Suppose public spending can be deployed with this degree of precision. In that case, market strategy must now factor in state influence – not just regulation or taxation, but direct participation in how demand is created, distributed, and spent.

It also raises questions about data sovereignty and consumer privacy. Every transaction under this program is logged, time-stamped, and geolocated. While much of the data is anonymized or aggregated, tracking purchasing behaviors at this scale gives policymakers and platforms a new level of visibility and responsibility. Transparency, ethical use, and public trust will become defining themes as similar programs proliferate.

For consumers, the wallet scheme introduces a new normal, not just in how they pay but also in how they engage with money. Spending has become traceable and digitally shaped. This could foster a generation of Thais who expect convenience, traceability, and flexibility from every financial interaction—expectations that will extend far beyond this program.

In the broader Southeast Asian context, Thailand’s experiment is being watched. Governments from Vietnam to Malaysia are exploring their own pathways toward digital inclusion and financial modernization. If Thailand’s model successfully drives lasting consumer habits, similar regional models could be accelerated.

What remains unclear is whether these behaviors will stick. Will consumers continue favoring QR payments, or will familiar cash habits resurface? Much will depend on how embedded digital convenience becomes in daily transactions and whether follow-up incentives, merchant retention, and habit reinforcement mechanisms remain. This presents a live opportunity for market researchers to track post-stimulus drop-offs, digital payment stickiness, and evolving consumer loyalty under real-world conditions.

If replicated across ASEAN, this state-led digital payment model could redefine how governments stimulate economies and how brands prepare for demand. Thailand’s model offers a scalable blueprint in markets like Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, where digital infrastructure is expanding but financial inclusion remains uneven.

There’s also a broader possibility: what begins as a one-off wallet scheme could evolve into a prototype for Universal Basic Income trials delivered via fintech. Conditional, trackable, and segmentable, such frameworks would allow governments to deploy aid, test responses, tweak incentives, and monitor outcomes in real time.

Thailand’s digital wallet initiative illustrates the growing interplay between government policy and consumer behavior. For businesses, this underscores the importance of aligning with digital platforms and payment systems increasingly influenced by public sector strategies.

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Jollibee is rewriting the rules of global fast food.

After a strong financial year, the Filipino fast-food giant is entering 2025 with around USD 364 million earmarked to open as many as 800 new stores worldwide. That would push Jollibee’s total store count past 10,000, a staggering figure for a homegrown chain once dismissed as quirky outside Asia. But this is no vanity expansion. The brand’s global push reflects a more profound shift at home, where demand for quick, affordable meals surges, defying inflation, reshaping food culture, and fueling a new era of fast-food dominance in the Philippines.

This isn’t just about chicken and burgers. It’s about how one brand’s rise is capturing the cravings of an entire nation.

Fast food emerged as the most popular choice for dining out, particularly among chicken and burger lovers. Quick-service establishments accounted for over half of the industry’s total revenue, generating over USD 7 billion in 2023. Since then, the segment has been dominated by homegrown players, led by Jollibee Foods Corporation, whose portfolio includes Mang Inasal, Greenwich, and Chowking. McDonald’s remains a distant second, operating under the exclusive franchise of Golden Arches Development Corporation. As demand rises, local chains expand into provincial areas, while international brands continue to enter the market, adding more variety to Filipino tables.

Whether students meet after class, families treat themselves on weekends, or office workers order lunch through an app, the momentum is clear: Filipinos are dining out, ordering in, and doing it more often.

This revival isn’t a return to the past. It’s an acceleration. The pandemic disrupted routines and deepened appreciation for fast, reliable food options. A more mobile, value-conscious consumer emerged who now sees fast food as affordable and dependable.

Demand for fast food stays strong in the Philippines

The latest research indicates that consumer spending on food services remained steady despite elevated inflation rates, with quick-service restaurants showing particular resilience. Budget-friendly combo meals, seasonal promos, and tiered pricing have helped brands stay within reach for everyday customers.

For many, an under-two-dollar value meal is more than just food. It’s an accessible treat, a small reward at the end of a long day. In uncertain times, the routine of fast food offers something dependable.

Global ambition with local roots in the Philippines

Jollibee’s international footprint is a calculated strategy powered by years of steady domestic growth and rising demand from Filipino communities abroad. From Los Angeles to Riyadh, queues outside Jollibee outlets speak to nostalgia and a global appetite for distinctly Filipino offerings.

In 2024, Jollibee Foods Corp opened new stores across North America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, adding to its diverse portfolio that includes Smashburger in the U.S., The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and Yonghe King in China. Its global network spans over 30 countries, with stronghold cities like Toronto and Dubai seeing expansion fueled by the diaspora and growing mainstream interest.

But the push outward is rooted in confidence built at home. JFC’s record earnings have created room to double down on international markets, and the brand’s ability to localize, while staying true to its core identity, has become its competitive edge.

Regional QSRs take root beyond Metro Manila

While major players dominate the headlines, a quiet transformation occurs in provincial cities. Homegrown fast-food chains like Mang Inasal (also under JFC) and Potato Corner are seeing rapid expansion in tier-2 and tier-3 areas, where demand is driven by a growing middle class and increased infrastructure investment.

Cities like Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, and General Santos have become new frontiers for QSR growth. These markets value familiarity, affordability, and local relevance, and regional chains are responding to these preferences with rice-based meals, grilled dishes, and snackable comfort food.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) notes that regional retail hubs posted double-digit growth in food service in 2024, a sign that the fast-food phenomenon is no longer concentrated in major urban centers. For brands, this shift signals the need to build hyper-local strategies, not just nationally but by province, city, and even neighborhood.

Global fast-food chains step up competition in the Philippines’ quick-service market.

Jollibee may dominate the local scene, but it no longer stands alone. International quick-service brands are scaling up in the Philippines, eyeing the same value-driven, convenience-loving consumers.

McDonald’s Philippines, which opened its 700th store in 2024, continues to match Jollibee’s momentum with localized offerings and digital upgrades. Popeyes and Shake Shack are expanding footprints in Metro Manila, while brands like Tim Hortons and Five Guys are testing growth in urban centers. Each new entry promises variety and the pressure to compete.

What’s different now is the intensity. With a young, urban population and rising mobile penetration, the Philippine QSR market has become a battleground for homegrown and global players. Store count is only one metric. The real contest is for relevance: who can adapt, respond, and resonate fastest with local tastes and lifestyles?

Fast Food Menus that speak the local language

Taste is local, and brands are listening. Filipino diners want more than burgers and fries. They expect flavor profiles reflecting regional preferences and seasonal cravings. That’s why spicy chicken, sweet-style spaghetti, and ube-flavored desserts are staples, not novelties, across fast-food menus.

Before launching new items like Spicy Tuna Pie or ube-flavored desserts, Jollibee conducts sensory testing and product trials to gauge appeal across regions. JFC’s 2021 Sustainability Report outlines a quality assurance process that includes sensory evaluations and physicochemical analysis, ensuring every product meets both safety standards and consumer taste expectations.

Jollibee continues to lead with offerings designed around Filipino palates, from its best-selling Burger Steak to newly launched spicy Tuna Pie variants. McDonald’s Philippines has followed suit, bringing back its Twister Fries and McSpicy lines while experimenting with rice-based meals and desserts like the Ube McDip.

This localization trend isn’t limited to Filipino chains. Even global brands are learning to localize faster, rolling out limited-time items that reflect local tastes. Product development has become both a marketing tool and a competitive differentiator, allowing brands to stay top-of-mind in a saturated landscape.

Sustainability now comes standard in fast food chains in the Philippines

Sustainability is no longer a side note—it’s influencing what Filipinos order, how often they return, and which brands earn their trust. Jollibee’s “Joy for Tomorrow” program has moved beyond recycling pledges and into action, including energy-efficient store designs, reduced food waste, and stronger partnerships with local farmers.

Other fast-food players are following suit. Biodegradable packaging, cage-free sourcing, and ingredient transparency are making their way into the mainstream. These shifts speak to a consumer base that wants convenience without compromise. The cost of a meal now includes a calculation of impact, and brands that take that seriously are gaining ground.

The screen is the new QSR storefront.

Ordering food has become a tap-and-go experience. Mobile apps, third-party delivery platforms, and social commerce are no longer add-ons; they’re central to the Filipino consumer journey.

In 2024, Food Industry Asia reported that nearly 60% of quick-service restaurant orders in Philippine cities were placed through digital channels.

Foot traffic has given way to app traffic, with brands competing on flash deals, loyalty rewards, and free delivery to stay top of mind.

Digital payments are now part of everyday life in the Philippines. In 2024, usage among adults aged 15 and up hit 33%, a steep climb from just 3.2% in 2018. The shift mirrors the rise of mobile-first ordering and in-app transactions, especially in fast-paced urban dining.

Jollibee’s mobile ordering platform has expanded its features, allowing personalized recommendations, pre-orders, and seamless integration with payment apps. McDonald’s Philippines, GrabFood, and Foodpanda continue to lead in delivery convenience, but newer players like TikTok Shop have begun to influence food discovery and promo-led conversions.

Fast food is no longer just about what’s on the menu; it’s about how quickly, easily, and enjoyably it can be accessed.

Where Gen Z eats, posts, and connects

For Gen Z in the Philippines, fast food isn’t just a meal; it’s part of the social fabric. Chains like Jollibee and McDonald’s have become informal meeting places, study zones, and TikTok backdrops. With free Wi-Fi, student discounts, and sleek interior revamps, fast-food locations are evolving into lifestyle spaces for a digital-first generation.

Over 70% of Filipinos aged 15–24 visit a fast-food restaurant at least once a week, not only to eat but also to socialize, stream content, or work on school assignments. The ambiance, affordability, and accessibility make these venues a go-to choice, especially in areas with few alternatives.

QSR brands have noticed. Jollibee’s recent store designs incorporate more seating zones, charging stations, and group-friendly configurations. Meanwhile, McDonald’s continues to roll out McCafé-style concepts with a café vibe. Marketing also leans heavily on youth-driven platforms. Jollibee’s TikTok content, for instance, regularly goes viral thanks to campaign hooks that merge pop culture, food hacks, and humor.

This convergence of dining, content creation, and community adds a new layer to how fast food functions in Filipino society. It’s not just about convenience or flavor; it’s about belonging.

Innovation behind the fast-food counter

Fast food has always been about speed, but now it’s also about smarts. Behind the counter, brands adopt AI-driven inventory systems, real-time analytics, and predictive modeling to optimize operations.

On the consumer side, personalization is becoming standard. Delivery apps suggest orders based on time of day, while loyalty platforms trigger tailored promos and gamified incentives. In 2024, over 8 in 10 Filipino consumers ordered fast food through delivery apps, the highest in Asia, making digital innovation a make-or-break factor for staying relevant.

This tech transformation isn’t just about convenience. It’s how brands scale, adapt, and survive in an economy where expectations move faster than supply chains.

A new flavor of identity in Philippine QSRs

Fast food in the Philippines has evolved from an occasional indulgence into a defining thread in everyday life. It reflects shifting routines, modern appetites, and a generation that blends tradition with convenience.

Jollibee’s global rise is not just a business story; it’s a cultural signal. It shows how a local brand, deeply rooted in national identity, can compete on the world stage without losing its soul. At the same time, the growing presence of foreign QSR players and the embrace of digital-first experiences suggest that Filipino consumers are increasingly cosmopolitan in their tastes, but still loyal to brands that understand them.

Jollibee’s QSR expansion isn’t just about chicken. It’s about claiming a cultural and commercial space that reflects where Filipino consumers are headed, and how fast the world is learning to follow.

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Conducting online research in China is unlike anywhere else in the world.

With over 1.1 billion internet users in 2024, China accounts for over a fifth of the global online population. Nearly all of them, over 99%, access the internet via smartphones, making mobile-first behavior not just common but standard.

Researchers won’t find Google, Facebook, or YouTube. The Great Firewall blocks these platforms. Domestic giants like Baidu, WeChat, and Tmall stand in their place, which dominate search, social interaction, and e-commerce across every tier of Chinese society.

China’s digital economy is expanding with both speed and scale. According to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, it reached ¥50.2 trillion in 2024, accounting for nearly 40% of the country’s GDP. That growth has produced a tightly regulated, platform-driven ecosystem where almost every transaction and interaction is digitally mediated, and often monitored.

The implications for research professionals and brands entering China are clear: global tools and templates rarely apply. Access, compliance, and engagement strategies must be localized, legally sound, and platform-specific.

Understanding the Market Research Landscape in China

At first glance, China may appear to be a single, unified market. But researchers who’ve worked on the ground know better. The country’s vast geography, regional economic disparities, and fast-evolving digital behavior make it anything but monolithic.

One of the first challenges is the platform disconnect. Western tools and social platforms – standard in global research workflows – are largely inaccessible. Google Surveys, Meta’s ad platform, YouTube analytics, and even SurveyMonkey links can break or be blocked entirely. Instead, insights must be gathered through domestic platforms such as Wenjuanxing for surveys, WeChat for micro-panels and intercepts, or Douyin and Xiaohongshu for digital ethnography.

Understanding consumer behavior within these ecosystems requires fluency in China’s unwritten rules of digital life. These include the importance of influencer-led recommendations, the use of e-wallets and super apps, and the power of social commerce, where shopping is often embedded within live streams or chat threads. Research here doesn’t just measure attitudes or preferences; it often captures behavior in real time.

Then there are the legal and regulatory dynamics. China’s Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), which came into effect in 2021, mirrors aspects of Europe’s GDPR but with stricter localization mandates. Researchers must store data onshore, obtain clear consent, and ensure complete transparency with respondents. Foreign firms conducting surveys without a local license risk heavy penalties or blocks.

Internet access itself is stratified. While national penetration hit over 76% in 2024, rural provinces and lower-tier cities still lag, especially in terms of speed, access to modern platforms, and digital literacy per CNNIC. A panel that works in Shenzhen might fail in Gansu.

In short, market research in China exists at the intersection of tight state oversight, massive digital adoption, and deeply localized behaviors. Without accounting for these dynamics, even well-funded research efforts can fall short, sometimes without realizing it.

Define Your Research Objectives and Localize Your Strategy

No matter how sophisticated the tools or how generous the budget, market research in China will fail if the objectives aren’t adapted to local realities. This is where many global teams stumble – by applying Western assumptions to an entirely different cultural and regulatory framework.

Consumer segmentation in China can’t rely on income bands or generational labels alone. Social status is fluid, regional identities matter, and values shift across provinces. A tier-2 city in the East may be more digitally mature than a tier-1 city in the interior. Brands that define their target groups too narrowly or generically risk missing how identity and aspiration play out in Chinese daily life.

Consumer behavior also looks different in a tightly surveilled digital space. Chinese consumers are more likely to self-censor, avoid specific topics, or express preferences indirectly. Questions that may seem standard in a US or UK survey about media consumption, personal values, or financial habits can backfire if not rephrased to account for local sensitivities. Cultural fluency matters not just in translation but also in tone, structure, and framing.

Even the method of recruitment can alter the reliability of insights. Research respondents in China tend to give more socially desirable answers, especially in group settings. This is rooted in the concept of “face” (mianzi), a powerful social dynamic that influences behavior in personal and public spheres. Without careful design, your questionnaire might gather politeness rather than truth.

A one-size-fits-all approach to research design is also problematic due to China’s vast geographic and economic divides. What resonates in Shanghai may fall flat in Chongqing, and what succeeds in digital-first Guangdong may underperform in slower-moving provincial markets.

Before any fieldwork begins, market research teams must:

Clarify objectives in the context of China’s regulatory environment
Rework segmentation models to include region, tier classification, and platform usage
Pilot test surveys or interview guides to flag misinterpretations or mistrust
Prepare for multiple iterations: localization is not a one-time edit

The most effective market research in China begins not with a script but with a reset. It discards assumptions and designs from the ground up, aligned to local behaviors, restrictions, and opportunities.

Choose the Right Market Research Methodologies

Choosing the correct market research methodology in China is a matter of access. With international research tools restricted or blocked, researchers must turn to local platforms, re-engineered workflows, and culturally calibrated approaches that work within China’s digital ecosystem.

Quantitative Research: Mobile, Embedded, and Localized

Online surveys remain a cornerstone of quantitative research, but success depends on domestic platforms. Tools like Wenjuanxing and Sojump are popular alternatives to SurveyMonkey and Qualtrics, offering full integration with WeChat, where Chinese consumers already live, shop, and communicate.

Incentives also look different. Instead of email vouchers, respondents are more likely to engage when rewards are offered via WeChat Pay or Alipay, and when surveys are designed for mobile-first navigation, short, vertical, and touch-friendly.

Researchers should also be cautious about using standard Likert scales or Western question phrasing. Translation is rarely enough. Questions like “How strongly do you agree with this statement?” may confuse or alienate respondents unfamiliar with abstract rating formats. Instead, behavioral prompts (“What do you usually do when…?”) often yield more honest responses.

Tencent’s survey tools account for over 60% of digital survey traffic in China, especially when embedded within WeChat mini-programs.

Source: Tencent internal data and industry reports

Qualitative Research: The Art of Listening Between the Lines

Focus groups, in-depth interviews, and ethnographic research still play a vital role in understanding Chinese consumers, but they require cultural dexterity. Participants may hesitate to share candid opinions in a group setting, especially if their answers could be seen as disloyal, impolite, or out of sync with others.

Skilled moderators trained in local dialects and non-verbal cues are essential. Many Chinese respondents may not openly contradict a brand or state dissatisfaction directly. What’s left unsaid, or said in euphemisms, can be just as meaningful as what’s spoken.

In rural areas and lower-tier cities, face-to-face intercept interviews or home visits may be more effective than digital channels, especially among older demographics with limited app literacy.

Example: A global FMCG brand could run taste tests for new snacks in Shanghai and Chengdu. While Shanghai participants might discuss flavor in marketing terms, Chengdu participants may reference family traditions and mealtime rituals. Both data sets will be valuable, but wildly different in tone and framing.

Platform-Based Research: Where Behavior Happens

Increasingly, behavior-based research on Chinese platforms is replacing self-reported data. Tools for social listening on Xiaohongshu, Douyin, and Weibo allow brands to track organic conversations, reviews, and influencer interactions in real time. This method offers rich, unfiltered insights only if researchers understand local slang, memes, and the fast-moving social codes that govern engagement.

Leveraging Live-Streaming and Digital Ethnography

An emerging trend in Chinese market research is the use of live-streaming interviews and digital ethnography. Researchers engage with participants through live video sessions, often via mobile screen sharing, to observe real-time decision-making processes during online shopping experiences. This approach provides insights into how consumers interact with algorithms, peer reviews, and promotional incentives.

Platforms like Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) and Kuaishou have popularized live-streaming commerce, where influencers showcase products and interact with viewers in real-time. Brands have adopted similar strategies for research purposes, allowing them to observe authentic consumer behaviors in natural settings.

For instance, during a live-streamed shopping session, a participant might discuss their thought process while choosing between products, revealing factors such as brand perception, price sensitivity, and the influence of peer recommendations. This method offers a richer, more nuanced understanding of consumer behavior compared to traditional surveys.

Recruit the Right Respondents

Getting the methodology right means little if the respondents don’t reflect the realities of China’s diverse consumer base. With a population that spans rural to hyper-urban, Gen Z to retirees, and everything in between, recruitment is one of the most critical and misunderstood steps in the research process.

Many international brands default to panels based in tier-1 cities like Beijing, Shanghai, or Shenzhen. While these metros offer easy access to digitally fluent, affluent consumers, they represent only a fraction of the Chinese population. Insights gathered here can skew overly optimistic or trend-forward, failing to reflect the slower adoption curves, different aspirations, and practical constraints of consumers in tier-2, 3, and 4 cities.

City-tier segmentation is often a more useful starting point than income or age alone. Lower-tier cities are home to emerging middle-class consumers with different brand loyalties, risk tolerances, and shopping rhythms. Mobile access may be high, but digital behavior often centers on group chats, community influencers, or price-comparison apps rather than impulse buys or brand storytelling.

Trust is another factor. Chinese respondents are often skeptical of unfamiliar research invitations, especially those that appear to come from foreign entities. Privacy concerns are amplified by growing public awareness of surveillance and data misuse. Clear disclosures, local branding, and appropriate incentives – preferably distributed via WeChat Pay or Alipay – go a long way in building credibility.

Here’s a simplified framework for how to think about respondent targeting:

City Tier	Key Traits	Best-Suited Research Methods
Tier 1	Digitally native, trend-sensitive	App-based surveys, UX testing, livestream ethnography
Tier 2	Aspirational, price-conscious	Mobile ethnography, moderated interviews
Tier 3–4	Family-driven, value-oriented	In-person intercepts, voice-recorded diaries, local moderators

Recruitment also needs to reflect linguistic diversity. Mandarin may be the official language, but dialects like Cantonese, Shanghainese, or Hokkien dominate in certain regions, affecting not just how people speak but also how they think and respond. Ignoring these subtleties risks diluting the quality of the insights.

The goal isn’t just to find willing respondents. It’s to find the right mix of voices that reflect the layers of China’s consumer landscape – urban and rural, old and young, first-time buyers and category loyalists. That mix is what separates data from insight.

Choose the Right Local Partners

Conducting market research in China without the right local partner is like trying to navigate Beijing without a map or a VPN. Between strict data laws, platform-specific tools, and regional business norms, partnerships aren’t optional. They’re foundational.

Under China’s Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) and related cybersecurity regulations, foreign companies conducting market research must work with licensed local entities. These partners ensure compliance with data localization rules, obtain the necessary permissions, and help navigate issues like respondent consent and secure data storage. Violating these protocols, even unintentionally, can result in blocked surveys, unusable data, or regulatory penalties.

But regulatory compliance is only part of the equation. The best local partners act as cultural interpreters, not just fieldwork executors. They know which platforms work in different regions. They can flag when a question falls flat or a concept may trigger political sensitivity. They often have pre-established panels or community connections that speed up recruitment without cutting corners.

Key traits to look for in a local research partner in China:

Transparency in methodology, recruitment, and sample quality.
Proven experience in your industry or category.
Strong digital capabilities, including mobile-first survey design and platform integration.
Multilingual moderation, especially for qualitative projects in regional markets.
Regulatory fluency, with up-to-date understanding of evolving compliance requirements.

Let’s say a global home appliance brand selected a local agency based solely on cost. Midway through the project, the agency ran unlicensed online surveys, resulting in platform shutdowns and a complete loss of data. The brand had to restart fieldwork, this time with a vetted partner, which cost both time and credibility.

In China, partnerships are not transactional; they’re relational. A good local agency won’t just execute your brief; they’ll help shape it, localize it, and protect it from avoidable missteps.

Analyze the Data with Local Context in Mind

Collecting data in China is only half the challenge. The other half, often overlooked by global teams, is interpreting that data through the right cultural and behavioral lens. Without context, even clean, well-structured datasets can lead to misleading conclusions.

Start with the basics: consumer expression in China is nuanced. Respondents often avoid direct disagreement or criticism, especially in group settings or formal interviews. This isn’t dishonesty; it’s cultural etiquette. The concept of “saving face” (mianzi) shapes how people share opinions, particularly when discussing sensitive topics like personal finances, government policy, or dissatisfaction with brands. What’s unsaid, or expressed obliquely, can carry more weight than a direct answer.

Quantitative surveys can be similarly distorted if global benchmarks are applied too rigidly. A net promoter score (NPS), for example, may skew artificially high or low depending on how Chinese respondents interpret the scale. A score of 7 might indicate strong satisfaction, not neutrality, because many respondents avoid giving top marks unless truly exceptional service is perceived. Translating scales, expectations, and phrasing without local validation risks entirely misreading consumer sentiment.

Researchers must also consider regional variability. An insight that holds in Hangzhou may fall apart in Harbin. Differences in spending power, brand exposure, education levels, and even platform usage create subtle but significant variations in interpretation. Treating China as a single market often results in data that’s technically correct but strategically useless.

Then there’s the issue of behavioral versus stated preferences. In tightly moderated environments like China’s internet, what consumers do often diverges from what they say. That’s why qualitative research, social listening, and mobile ethnography are vital complements to surveys. They surface the emotional and contextual drivers behind the numbers.

Finally, data storytelling matters. Stakeholders unfamiliar with the Chinese market need more than graphs; they need contextual framing. This might mean pairing survey results with platform usage maps, using participant quotes alongside heatmaps, or explaining why certain choices align with cultural norms.

In China, insight isn’t just about patterns. It’s about perspective.

Key Challenges to Be Aware Of

Conducting market research in China means navigating a minefield of legal, logistical, and cultural complexities. Even seasoned researchers can fall short if they overlook the structural challenges that shape the Chinese research environment.

Strict Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Laws

China’s Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) and Data Security Law impose strict controls on how data is collected, stored, and transferred. Unlike GDPR, which focuses on user consent, PIPL emphasizes data sovereignty, requiring that data collected in China remain within its borders unless specific conditions are met. Cross-border data transfers require government approval and justification.

Cloud storage, survey platforms, and even incentives must comply. A foreign survey tool hosted outside China may be inaccessible or illegal. Researchers must use licensed, in-country platforms and work with authorized local partners to ensure compliance.

The Great Firewall and Platform Restrictions

China’s internet infrastructure is isolated from the global web. Platforms like Google, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and even some international survey tools are blocked. Researchers relying on these defaults will see broken links, incomplete responses, or zero reach.

Understanding which local platforms dominate your category – WeChat for lifestyle, JD.com for electronics, Douyin for fashion – is essential for effective targeting and distribution.

Censorship and Sensitivity Triggers

Certain topics are politically or culturally sensitive. Surveys referencing religion, politics, or unapproved health claims can be flagged or blocked entirely. Even innocuous questions can trigger red flags if phrased poorly or translated without nuance.

Keywords are monitored. Platforms may moderate or remove open-ended questions without warning. Local partners can help navigate this, but only if they’re experienced in compliance and crisis management.

Bias in Responses

Chinese respondents often provide socially desirable answers, particularly in group settings or when speaking with foreign researchers. This is amplified by a strong cultural emphasis on harmony and avoiding confrontation.

The result is the overreporting of satisfaction, the underreporting of criticism, and the avoidance of direct disagreement. Without accounting for this bias, insights may appear overly positive or lacking urgency.

Regional Disparities

National statistics mask deep divides. According to the latest figures from the CNNIC, Internet penetration in major cities exceeds 85%, while some rural provinces lag well behind. Income, education, language, and digital fluency vary significantly across regions.

Research that doesn’t account for these differences risks skewing results and missing critical growth markets. A tiered city strategy, and potentially multiple fieldwork approaches, is often necessary.

Language, Dialects, and Double Meanings

Mandarin is the official language, but dozens of dialects are spoken across China, and translation doesn’t guarantee comprehension. Idioms, cultural references, and platform-specific slang all shape how questions are interpreted.

Professional translation is only the starting point. Effective market research in China requires back-translation, pre-testing, and review by native speakers familiar with the region and category.

Even well-designed research can fail if these barriers aren’t acknowledged upfront. The stakes in China are high, but so is the opportunity for brands that navigate these challenges with agility, respect, and local expertise.

Emerging Trends in Chinese Market Research

China’s market research landscape isn’t just evolving; it’s leapfrogging. As technology reshapes how consumers engage, researchers are adopting new tools and approaches that better reflect the speed, scale, and nuance of digital life in China.

Integrated Research Within Super Apps

WeChat has transformed from a messaging tool into a multi-functional ecosystem for shopping, banking, health, and more. Increasingly, research is embedded directly within WeChat mini-programs, enabling surveys, polls, and behavioral tracking to happen seamlessly in the same environment where users transact.

This integration boosts response rates and allows for real-time, contextual insights. For example, gauging user feedback moments after a purchase or app interaction.

Social Listening on Local Platforms

Global sentiment tools like Brandwatch or Talkwalker don’t scrape Chinese platforms like Xiaohongshu, Weibo, or Bilibili. To monitor what Chinese consumers are saying, researchers rely on local social listening tools that can decode hashtags, emojis, slang, and fast-evolving memes.

This form of ethnography has become essential for brands in categories like beauty, fashion, tech, and food, where peer recommendations, micro-influencers, and short-form content drive purchasing decisions.

In beauty, for instance, Xiaohongshu is often a more trusted source than a brand’s official site. Comments, before-and-after photos, and product comparisons offer deep insight into consumer expectations and unspoken needs.

Live-Stream-Based Research

As live commerce explodes, researchers use similar formats to study in-the-moment decisions. Participants join live-streamed product trials or share mobile screens during real-time shopping journeys. This allows moderators to observe how users navigate product detail pages, evaluate reviews, respond to promotions, and decide what to buy or abandon.

These sessions offer a window into algorithm-driven behavior and allow researchers to identify digital triggers that wouldn’t surface in traditional interviews.

Gamification and Incentivized Micro-Tasks

Younger audiences are more likely to engage when research feels like a game or a challenge. Some brands now use gamified surveys, interactive quizzes, or platform-native rewards (like Douyin points or JD.com discounts) to increase participation and reduce drop-off rates.

Gamification also helps capture emotion or implicit reactions using image-based questions, timed responses, or swipe-to-choose interfaces, making it easier to analyze subconscious preferences.

AI-Driven Insight Generation

Artificial intelligence is increasingly used to clean, categorize, and analyze large volumes of qualitative data. Tools trained on Mandarin and regional dialects can now detect sentiment, group themes, and even flag contradictions in long-form responses or transcripts.

While human moderation remains critical, AI tools reduce turnaround times and help local teams scale research efforts, especially when tracking trends across vast volumes of user-generated content.

These emerging approaches aren’t experimental; they’re fast becoming the standard. In a market defined by innovation, brands that fail to evolve their research strategies risk falling behind the very consumers they’re trying to understand.

Winning with Cultural Intelligence

Success in China isn’t just about size or speed—it’s about understanding the systems, signals, and subtleties that shape how consumers live, decide, and spend. In a market where mobile usage is near universal, foreign platforms are blocked, and behaviors shift rapidly across city tiers, standard global research playbooks won’t cut it.

The most effective market research in China is never plug-and-play. It’s built locally, tested regionally, and interpreted fluently in culture and context. It demands partnerships with in-country experts, compliance with data sovereignty laws, and a deep understanding of what drives decisions on platforms like WeChat, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu.

However, the payoff is significant for brands willing to invest in this level of understanding. China offers not just scale, but a glimpse into the future of how digital behavior, platform ecosystems, and consumer expectations may evolve globally.

Market research here isn’t just about validating concepts. It’s about uncovering what matters – on the ground, in the feed, and the moment.

FAQ: Market Research in China

Is it legal to conduct market research in China?

Yes, but it must comply with China’s Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) and the Data Security Law. Foreign companies must work with licensed local research partners and ensure all data collection and storage happens within China, unless otherwise approved.

What platforms can I use for surveys in China?

Global tools like SurveyMonkey and Google Forms are often blocked. Common local platforms include:

Wenjuanxing (问卷星)
Sojump (金数据)
Tencent Questionnaire

These platforms integrate with WeChat and are compliant with Chinese regulations.

How do Chinese consumers typically respond to surveys?

Cultural norms like mianzi (saving face) can lead to socially desirable answers. Surveys should use indirect phrasing, behavioral questions, and localized framing to encourage more authentic responses.

What is the best way to recruit respondents in China?

Recruitment should be regionally tailored:

Use WeChat groups for urban panels.
Work with local community partners in lower-tier cities.
Offer incentives via WeChat Pay or Alipay to boost response rates.

Can I use social listening tools in China?

Yes, but global tools like Brandwatch may not cover Chinese platforms. Use local tools to monitor:

Xiaohongshu (RED) for product reviews and beauty trends
Douyin and Kuaishou for e-commerce behavior
Weibo for sentiment tracking

Is live-streaming research really used in China?

Yes. Live-stream-based digital ethnography is growing fast. Researchers observe participants via mobile screen share while they browse or shop, offering real-time insight into how decisions are made.

How to conduct online market research in Asia: The Go-To Guide
Interested in understanding how to approach online research across other Asian countries? Download the guide here

Need help navigating China’s complex research terrain? Our Asia-based teams specialize in platform-specific, compliant, and culturally tuned research solutions. Contact us today.

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The next wave of edtech growth isn’t being engineered in boardrooms or classrooms. It’s unfolding in bedrooms, dorm halls, and digital chat groups – where students turn smartphones into production studios and learning platforms into launchpads. Armed with ring lights and revision hacks, Gen Z creators are transforming how education is marketed, consumed, and experienced.

As the creator economy collides with online learning, edtech firms increasingly tap into student-led content to drive adoption and engagement. These are not traditional brand ambassadors. They’re 17-year-olds making calculus go viral on TikTok, undergraduates breaking down coding concepts on YouTube, and peer influencers creating community-led momentum that no ad spend can replicate.

It’s a shift that goes beyond marketing. The rise of peer co-creation is shaping the very future of digital education, raising questions about influence, equity, and outcomes. And as both Western and Asian edtech platforms double down on this strategy, one thing is clear: the line between learner and creator is rapidly disappearing.

Students take control of the edtech narrative

This behavioral shift isn’t accidental. It’s a direct outcome of how Gen Z and Gen Alpha navigate the world: socially networked, algorithm-aware, and deeply influenced by peer credibility.

For today’s learners, discovering an edtech platform through a classmate’s Instagram Reel or a late-night TikTok “study with me” session holds more weight than a polished brand campaign. Tutorials, crash courses, and day-in-the-life videos now double as endorsements, often outperforming official content in reach and relatability.

Behind the scenes, edtech companies are starting to adapt. Instead of focusing solely on institutional partnerships or top-down content strategies, platforms nurture creator ecosystems. Sometimes, they quietly offer toolkits, early access, and micro-incentives to student influencers who generate organic traction. The logic is clear: trust is the new currency, and students trust each other.

This peer-powered loop doesn’t just drive engagement – it shapes product design, fuels viral growth and turns users into evangelists. For edtech brands seeking to scale in saturated markets, the most strategic growth play may be letting students take the mic.

Khan Academy builds influence through relatability

In the US, Khan Academy is leaning into student-powered storytelling without making a spectacle of it. While the platform’s core content remains institutionally produced, its growth on social media owes much to an informal network of young creators – high schoolers and college students explaining how Khan helped them prep for the SATs, ace AP exams, or survive algebra.

Rather than launching overt influencer programs, Khan Academy benefits from what marketers might call “earned influence.” Creators like Thomas Frank—whose YouTube channel has over 3 million subscribers and more than 183 million views – frequently reference tools like Khan Academy in their tutorials. These mentions – organic, peer-driven, and peppered with personal success stories – carry a resonance that brand messaging rarely matches.

The result? A constant stream of creator-led endorsements embedded in motivational reels, test prep rundowns, and “study with me” live streams. The platform’s visibility continues to grow not through ads but through creators who view Khan as part of their academic survival toolkit. For students, it’s not just a resource. It’s a badge of belonging.

Classplus taps regional creators to drive depth over scale

In India’s competitive edtech landscape, Classplus has carved a distinct path by empowering educators to run their online classrooms. But increasingly, it’s students who are amplifying its reach. On Instagram, ShareChat, and even WhatsApp groups, testimonials and tutorials recorded by learners in Hindi, Tamil, and Bengali are helping the platform penetrate beyond metro cities into India’s vast tier-2 and tier-3 markets.

These are not slick influencer campaigns. Often filmed on low-budget phones with minimal editing, the content reflects real student experiences – test scores, improved confidence, or simply how a Classplus module helped crack a tough exam concept. The authenticity resonates, especially among first-generation digital learners seeking guidance in their native language.

Classplus hasn’t ignored the trend. The company has begun quietly supporting these student creators by spotlighting their content on its official channels and offering resources to help structure their narratives. In some cases, creators have even evolved into local brand champions – hosting peer workshops, leading Telegram study groups, and shaping how the platform adapts to regional needs.

While many edtech players chase national scale, Classplus is betting that peer-led credibility in small communities may prove more sustainable (and more powerful) than mass-market advertising.

Zenius turns TikTok into a learning laboratory

In Indonesia, Zenius is rewriting the rules of student engagement by meeting Gen Z exactly where they are – on TikTok. The platform, which offers curriculum-aligned content for K-12 learners, has seen a surge in student-driven explainers, study hacks, and motivational clips that blend humor with academic rigor. What might once have been dry exam prep is now delivered with trending sounds, meme formats, and an unmistakably local voice.

Rather than competing for attention, Zenius has embraced this creative energy. Its team actively encourages students to remix educational content into short-form videos and even runs nationwide creator challenges to spark participation. Top-performing videos – like a viral breakdown of Newton’s laws using motorbike stunts – don’t just boost app downloads. They position Zenius as a platform that understands and reflects the student mindset. Zenius’s own TikTok account, @zeniuseducation, has built a substantial following, demonstrating the platform’s resonance with Gen Z audiences in Indonesia.

The strategy taps into more than entertainment. By enabling students to co-create and share learning moments, Zenius is fostering a sense of ownership and community. Creators become informal tutors, and learning transforms into a social experience – one that travels through peer networks far faster than traditional classroom methods.

For a generation that learns in bursts, scrolls for validation, and values authenticity over authority, Zenius is proving the future of education might look a lot more like the For You Page.

How-Student-Creators-Are-Shaping-the-Future-of-EdTech

The influence dilemma behind student-led learning

As student creators gain traction, edtech companies navigate a delicate balance between engagement and responsibility. What happens when learning starts to look more like content creation? For every viral study hack or exam tip that spreads across TikTok or YouTube Shorts, there’s the risk of misinformation, burnout, or unintended pressure to perform for views.

Experts are divided. Some argue that co-creation fosters deeper learning, with students reinforcing their knowledge by teaching others. For example, an academic review of TikTok’s role in education cautioned that while it increases engagement, the brevity and virality of the content can undermine conceptual depth and accuracy, especially when non-experts are involved.

Others warn that when education is filtered through the lens of likes and shares, rigor can give way to popularity.

There’s also the question of transparency. As platforms begin to reward creators – either through visibility, free subscriptions, or direct payments – questions around sponsorship disclosure and authenticity are becoming harder to ignore. In a space where trust is everything, even the perception of promotion can erode credibility.

Mental health concerns are mounting, too. Students doubling as creators often juggle schoolwork with self-imposed content calendars, leading to stress, screen fatigue, and anxiety around performance metrics. Without clear boundaries or institutional support, the model risks amplifying the very challenges it aims to solve.

“TikTok is redefining how students access information, but it’s not a substitute for structured learning. Educators must help students think critically about the content they consume.”

From the study: TikTok’s Influence on Education, ResearchGate

The blending of learning and influence isn’t inherently flawed, but it demands stronger guardrails. If student creators are to shape the future of education, platforms will need to offer more than visibility. They’ll need to offer support.

Learning becomes a networked, creator-powered ecosystem

The convergence of student influence and educational technology is no passing trend; it’s reshaping how learning is discovered, delivered, and defined. What began as a handful of creators posting revision tips has evolved into a decentralized learning ecosystem where peer networks hold as much sway as professional educators.

Many edtech brands are adapting. Some invest in tools that allow creators to track engagement and refine their content. Others are experimenting with monetization models, giving high-performing student educators a path to income or certification. Features once exclusive to influencer platforms – analytics dashboards, branded content guidelines, creator portals – are quietly being layered into the backends of learning apps.

The implications are global. In the West, the trend is accelerating around standardized testing, college prep, and niche STEM content. In Asia, it’s unlocking growth in local language education and expanding access in low-bandwidth, mobile-first environments. While the pace may differ, the destination is the same: education that is personalized, social, and driven by those closest to the experience.

For brands, the message is clear. Students aren’t just users anymore. They’re builders of trust, momentum, and meaning. And in a market where attention is earned – not bought – platforms that empower them will lead the next generation of education.

Why this matters for brands

For brands operating in or adjacent to education, the rise of student creators is both a growth lever and a governance challenge. The decentralization of influence, from institutions to peers offers unmatched authenticity and reach but also introduces new variables around accuracy, accountability, and impact.

The platforms that will lead are not those that simply ride the trend but those that help shape it responsibly. That means investing in tools that empower young voices while embedding safeguards: content verification, mental health resources, and transparent disclosure practices. Aligning with creators is no longer just a marketing strategy; it’s a responsibility.

Students have become trusted messengers in a market where attention is earned, not bought. But with that trust comes a new mandate for brands: to amplify wisely and build ecosystems that value innovation and integrity.

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Rising inflation and economic uncertainty were expected to put an end to discretionary spending for middle-income households. Instead, consumers are making room for indulgence. Across the US, UK, and Europe, households earning moderate incomes continue to prioritize non-essential purchases at rates far closer to affluent consumers than economic models predicted. McKinsey’s 2024 Global Consumer Sentiment Survey found that 42% of middle-income respondents in developed markets still plan to spend on travel, dining out, and personal care in the next year, just nine percentage points lower than high-income households.

The resilience of discretionary spending in the face of rising costs defies conventional economic assumptions. It is not a case of irrationality or denial. It reflects a shift in how consumers measure value. After years of pandemic-driven disruption, middle-class buyers are increasingly framing small luxuries as essential to emotional well-being, not as reckless spending. An affordable meal out, a short domestic trip, or a new skincare product carries more than monetary worth. It represents normalcy, reward, and agency in an environment where larger financial goals often feel less attainable.

This trend is not a short-term reaction to inflation, nor is it purely sentimental. It is structurally rational behavior shaped by stress, lifestyle adjustment, and evolving definitions of security. Spending on modest treats provides a sense of control and immediacy when long-term stability—home ownership, retirement savings—feels increasingly out of reach. Consumers are not abandoning caution; they are recalibrating what prudence looks like in real terms.

Understanding this shift is critical for brands, retailers, and policymakers. Indulgence spending among the middle class is not a deviation from rational economic behavior. It is an adaptation to new realities, where emotional resilience and quality of life have become primary considerations alongside price and necessity.

Tight Budgets, Sharp Choices

The pressure on household budgets is real. Inflation has driven up the cost of essentials—housing, food, energy—leaving less flexibility for discretionary categories. Yet rather than abandoning non-essential purchases altogether, middle-class consumers are reprioritizing with striking precision. The pattern is visible across the US, UK, and Europe: subscription services are among the first to be cancelled, big-ticket electronics are postponed, and plans for major home renovations are shelved. But the impulse to carve out space for small luxuries remains intact.

KPMG’s 2024 Middle-Class Financial Priorities report highlights this shift. In a survey of households earning between 75% and 150% of median income, nearly 60% reported cutting back on monthly expenses such as media subscriptions and dining delivery apps. However, the same respondents overwhelmingly indicated an intention to preserve budget for “quality of life” items, including occasional dining out, personal care products, and leisure travel under 500 miles. The data suggests that discretionary spending is not vanishing—it is being filtered through a more selective lens.

A similar rebalancing is evident in Europe. OECD research published earlier this year shows that while the ownership of new vehicles among middle-income households declined by over 8% between 2022 and 2024, spending on local travel, cultural events, and specialty food purchases held steady. In the UK, Deloitte’s 2024 consumer tracker found that middle-income households were 30% more likely to describe smaller, experiential purchases as “essential for well-being” than they were before the pandemic.

The underlying dynamic is a redefinition of value. Consumers are moving away from evaluating purchases solely on cost or prestige. Instead, the metric is experiential reward—whether a purchase delivers emotional uplift, stress relief, or a sense of personal investment. A $50 skincare product or a weekend away is justified not by indulgence for its own sake, but by what it represents: a manageable, affirming investment in quality of life.

This sharpening of priorities is not a retreat from financial responsibility. It is a recalibration. Households are preserving choice and pleasure even as long-term goals grow more distant. The middle-class response to inflation is not to close the wallet entirely, but to spend carefully, reinforcing emotional resilience where it matters most.

Where the Money Is Still Flowing

The resilience of middle-class discretionary spending becomes clearest when looking at where the money continues to move. Small luxuries, particularly those offering immediate personal gratification without long-term financial strain, are absorbing a disproportionate share of discretionary budgets. These are not extravagant purchases but considered indulgences—choices that allow consumers to feel rewarded without incurring future economic risk.

Dining out remains one of the strongest performing sectors. Mastercard SpendingPulse data from early 2024 showed that spending at fast-casual and premium-casual restaurants in the US rose by 8% year-on-year, even as fine dining bookings declined. Consumers are trading down from high-end experiences but refusing to give up the social and emotional value of meals shared outside the home. In the UK, Statista reports that visits to casual dining chains increased by nearly one-fifth compared to 2022 levels, concentrated among households earning £30,000 to £70,000 annually.

Beauty and skincare purchases are following a similar trajectory. McKinsey’s 2024 Global Beauty Survey found that middle-income consumers accounted for nearly half of the growth in skincare sales across Europe and North America, often favoring mid-tier brands offering “clinical-grade” results at accessible prices. Rather than abandoning beauty spending, buyers are shifting toward products that promise tangible outcomes—improved skin health, self-care benefits—over prestige branding. The emphasis is not on conspicuous consumption but on self-affirmation.

Domestic travel, particularly short-haul trips, has also proven remarkably resilient. According to Mastercard’s travel trends report, bookings for domestic leisure trips under 300 miles rose by 12% in the US during the past year, primarily driven by middle-income households. European markets such as France and Germany showed parallel trends, with regional rail and car rental bookings outperforming international air travel. Travel, even scaled down, remains a critical outlet for recreation and stress relief, viewed as a justifiable investment rather than a luxury.

Personal wellness has evolved from a niche concern to a consistent budget item. Deloitte’s 2024 Health and Wellness Tracker found that expenditures on fitness apps, meditation subscriptions, and nutritional supplements rose by nearly 15% among middle-income consumers compared to 2022. Spa treatments and boutique fitness sessions also saw modest but steady gains, especially when bundled into affordable packages. Wellness is increasingly framed not as optional self-indulgence but as proactive health maintenance—a narrative that middle-class consumers embrace even under financial strain.

What ties these sectors together is not mere resilience but strategic prioritization. Consumers actively choose experiences and products that deliver emotional payoff without undermining longer-term financial goals. Small luxuries have become part of how households navigate financial pressure, balancing restraint with resilience.

How Indulgence Looks Different Around the World

The appetite for small luxuries is global, but its expression varies sharply across markets. Cultural context, inflationary pressure, and recovery patterns from the pandemic shape how and where middle-class consumers indulge.

In the United States, experience is taking precedence over material accumulation. Mastercard’s 2024 SpendingPulse report shows that while retail sales for durable goods have slowed, spending on travel, dining, and entertainment continues to climb. Middle-income households prioritize activities that create memories and offer a sense of immediacy, even as they pull back on home goods and apparel. The pattern reflects a broader recalibration, where the value of money is increasingly measured in lived experience rather than possessions.

The United Kingdom mirrors this behavioral split, though with sharper trade-offs. Ipsos data published earlier this year indicates that middle-income British households are aggressively trading down on everyday essentials—switching to discount supermarkets and delaying home improvements—while deliberately protecting spending on experiential categories. Budget airline bookings, concert attendance, and dining at independent restaurants remain surprisingly resilient. The message is clear: not all spending is negotiable, even under pressure.

In continental Europe, the indulgence lens often narrows toward artisanal quality. In France and Germany, Euromonitor reports that while overall household budgets have tightened, purchases of artisanal food, skincare, and local leisure travel have held steady or even grown modestly. Consumers are not abandoning discretionary spending, but are redirecting it toward smaller, more meaningful pleasures that emphasize craftsmanship, locality, and authenticity.

Southeast Asia presents a different dynamic, driven by digital acceleration and aspirational consumption. In Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines, middle-income consumers are investing in affordable upgrades—beauty products, domestic travel, and entry-level tech such as smartphones and wearable devices. According to Bain & Company’s 2024 Southeast Asia Digital Economy Report, there has been a surge in beauty e-commerce, with mid-tier brands seeing the fastest growth among urban middle-class buyers. Here, indulgence is closely tied to self-improvement and digital connectivity rather than traditional luxury markers.

China and India present a distinct dynamic. In China, middle-class consumers focus on premium health, wellness, and education-related services. Mastercard’s 2024 China Consumption Outlook shows strong growth in short domestic leisure travel, boutique fitness memberships, and “new luxury” beauty brands that offer substance over logo appeal. In India, indulgence is often family-centered. Euromonitor data highlights that spending on family experiences—mall outings, cinema, casual dining, and affordable domestic holidays—is being prioritized, even as households economize on electronics and apparel. The middle class is seeking small windows of joy that offer collective, not just individual, payoff.

Across these regions, indulgence spending is far from homogeneous. It is shaped by cultural narratives about success, wellness, and emotional reward. Yet the underlying behavior is consistent: even under inflationary strain, middle-income consumers are unwilling to surrender the experiences and products that sustain a sense of control, progress, and personal value.

Why Indulgence Feels Necessary, Not Excessive

The persistence of small luxuries in strained economic times is not a matter of consumer irrationality. It is a rational psychological response to prolonged stress, uncertainty, and shifting social norms. For many middle-class households, small indulgences have moved beyond occasional rewards to become a form of emotional maintenance—a way to reassert agency and sustain morale when broader financial goals feel increasingly distant.

Much of this shift can be traced to the post-pandemic “live for today” mindset. After years of deferred plans and disrupted routines, consumers across income levels have shown a greater willingness to prioritize present-day satisfaction. Behavioral economists point to the acceleration of hedonic adaptation—the tendency to return to a baseline level of happiness despite external changes—as a key factor. When future security feels less certain, spending on immediate emotional uplift becomes a practical way to protect mental well-being.

American Psychological Association research on stress-related spending supports this view. A 2024 report found that nearly 60% of middle-income consumers in the US admitted to occasional “treat spending” as a coping mechanism, with the majority framing such purchases not as extravagance, but as essential self-care. Similar patterns emerged in the UK and Singapore, where smaller, experience-driven expenditures were linked to lower reported stress levels in middle-income groups.

Social behavior further reinforces the normalization of indulgence. Small splurges—dining out, a weekend getaway, a new skincare regimen—are highly visible on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Sharing these moments has become part of how consumers construct narratives of resilience and self-investment. The effect is cumulative. What once might have been considered unnecessary spending is now broadly perceived as a reasonable way to manage life’s pressures.

Rather than retreating into austerity, many middle-class consumers are making conscious choices to maintain emotional balance through manageable rewards. In modern economic conditions, where traditional markers of financial progress are harder to achieve, these decisions are not acts of recklessness. They are strategies for preserving stability, dignity, and optimism in everyday life.

Small Luxuries, Big Opportunities

For brands, the persistence of small indulgences offers more than a temporary sales opportunity. It signals a deeper shift in how consumers assign value—one that demands careful strategic recalibration. Positioning products as accessible rewards or emotional enhancers, rather than as markers of status or success, will increasingly define market relevance.

Middle-class consumers are not looking for extravagant gestures. They are seeking personal moments of satisfaction, convenience, or self-expression that fit into constrained budgets. Products that deliver relaxation, confidence, or small affirmations of progress resonate far more than those that lean heavily on traditional luxury cues. In this environment, storytelling around personal value matters more than aspirational branding. A meal kit that saves time and creates family rituals, a skincare serum that represents self-care rather than vanity, a local mini-break that restores mental clarity—these are the narratives gaining traction.

The danger for brands lies in misreading the room. Overemphasizing luxury, exclusivity, or aspirational distance risks alienating a consumer base that values relatability and tangible benefit over status. Innovation must center on affordability without sacrificing the experience of quality. Smart packaging, modular services, and tiered product lines are helping some brands maintain margins while broadening emotional appeal.

Real-time market research is critical to navigating these shifts. Understanding which categories of small luxuries matter most—and how definitions of indulgence vary between regions, income brackets, and life stages—allows brands to tailor offerings with precision. Blanket assumptions about “affordable luxury” no longer hold. The brands that invest in nuanced, behavior-led insights will be the ones best positioned to capture loyalty in an economy where emotional and financial resilience are increasingly intertwined.

Indulgence in an Age of Restraint

Discretionary spending among middle-income consumers is too often dismissed as irrational, a stubborn refusal to accept economic reality. This view misses the point. Small indulgences are not acts of denial. They are structural adjustments to a world where traditional financial milestones—home ownership, long-term savings, upward mobility—have become harder to secure. Preserving moments of joy, autonomy, and emotional stability has become a rational survival strategy.

Understanding these patterns is critical for anyone forecasting the next phase of consumer behavior. Micro-indulgence is more than a passing phenomenon. It is a leading indicator of broader consumer sentiment, revealing how confidence, stress, and hope are negotiated at the household level. Brands and policymakers that fail to track these shifts will misread the market, mistaking emotional recalibration for economic irrationality.

At Kadence International, our global research shows that middle-class indulgence is not a short-term reaction to inflationary pressure. It is an embedded behavioral shift, one that will continue to shape spending across sectors well beyond the current cycle. Those who frame their growth strategies around emotional consumption, rather than rigid income segmentation, will be best positioned to capture resilience spending in an economy where financial caution and the pursuit of quality of life are no longer at odds, but deeply intertwined.

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In the last year alone, bookings for luxury river cruises by travelers over the age of 65 rose by more than 70%. In Southeast Asia, spa and wellness retreats report that seniors now make up the fastest-growing customer group. And in the United States, recent data shows that older adults are adopting wearable tech at a faster clip than millennials. These aren’t isolated shifts—they’re signals of a broader recalibration underway in global consumption.

For decades, older consumers have been cast in a supporting role: brand loyal, budget conscious, and resistant to change. The stereotype of the frugal retiree—committed to saving, disinterested in trends—has shaped how marketers target, serve, and sometimes overlook the over-65 segment. But the demographic reality has changed, and so have the consumers within it.

Today’s seniors are living longer, staying active, and spending more. In markets like the US and UK, they hold the bulk of wealth and show no hesitation in using it. In Southeast Asia, where aging populations are rising sharply, many seniors are approaching retirement with more education, financial independence, and appetite for indulgence than the generation before them. From travel and wellness to personal tech and home upgrades, older consumers are not only participating—they’re leading demand in categories once reserved for younger buyers.

This isn’t a niche. It’s a market-wide shift. As aging populations expand in both developed and emerging economies, their economic power is no longer confined to healthcare and insurance. It’s influencing the way brands think about experience, design, value, and messaging. Marketers who continue to fixate on youth risk missing one of the most quietly powerful growth segments in the global economy. Because while demographic trends might move slowly, consumer behavior is already changing—and the brands that recognize it early stand to benefit most.

A New Consumer Class with Global Influence

The global demographic landscape is undergoing a significant transformation. By 2030, individuals aged 65 and older are projected to constitute over 20% of the population in most developed countries, marking a substantial increase from previous decades .

In the United States, baby boomers—those born between 1946 and 1964—hold a dominant financial position. They control approximately 70% of the nation’s disposable income, making them a formidable economic force . This wealth accumulation is attributed to factors such as prolonged careers and favorable investment returns .

Regional Spending Patterns

Japan: With nearly 30% of its population aged 65 or older, Japan faces unique economic challenges and opportunities. The aging demographic has led to increased demand for healthcare services and age-friendly technologies
Singapore: Retired households in Singapore allocate a significant portion of their expenditures to health and wellness. Studies indicate that these households prioritize recreation and cultural activities, reflecting a desire for active and engaged lifestyles
United Kingdom: In the UK, seniors are playing a pivotal role in preserving and revitalizing traditional crafts. The resurgence of interest in heritage crafts, such as cask ale brewing, is partly driven by older consumers who value authenticity and tradition .

Emerging Markets

India: Urban Indian seniors are exhibiting increased consumer confidence. Recent surveys show a rise in sentiment regarding personal finances and investments, suggesting a growing willingness to spend on quality products and services

Vietnam: Vietnamese seniors are among the most optimistic consumers in Southeast Asia. Their positive outlook translates into active participation in the economy, with increased spending on healthcare, leisure, and technology

The Spending Habits That Are Defying Age Expectations

The conventional image of older adults as cautious spenders is increasingly outdated. Recent data reveals that seniors are actively engaging in various sectors, from travel and wellness to home improvements and technology, often outspending younger demographics.

Travel and Leisure

Seniors are embracing travel experiences that prioritize comfort and enrichment. In the UK, luxury rail journeys are booming—Railbookers added nearly one new high-end booking for every two made the year prior. Similarly, wellness tourism added more than $200 billion in a single year—growing by nearly one-third to reach $868 billion in 2023, indicating a growing preference for health-focused travel among older adults.

Wellness and Beauty

The pursuit of health and longevity is driving seniors to invest in wellness products and services. Thailand’s wellness economy expanded by nearly $9 billion in just one year, reaching $40.5 billion in 2023, with older consumers contributing significantly to this surge . The global skincare supplement market also reflects this trend, valued at $2.81 billion in 2023 and projected to reach $5.86 billion by 2032 .

Home and Lifestyle

Aging in place has become a priority for many seniors, leading to increased spending on home modifications. In the U.S., homeowners spent an average of $13,667 on home improvement projects in 2023, with accessibility and comfort being key motivators . Retailers like Home Depot and Lowe’s have responded by offering products tailored to the needs of older adults, such as ergonomic fixtures and safety enhancements.

Technology Adoption

Contrary to stereotypes, seniors are increasingly adopting smart technologies. AARP reports that nearly 9 in 10 adults over 50 now use smartphones, with two-thirds streaming on smart TVs and one in three engaging with voice assistants at home. This trend underscores the importance of user-friendly technology that caters to the preferences and needs of older consumers.

In category after category, senior preferences are leading—not lagging—market demand. Their choices no longer mirror trends; they initiate them.

Challenging the Utility-Only Narrative

The prevailing notion that older consumers prioritize practicality over pleasure is increasingly being challenged. Increasingly, older consumers are choosing experiences that deliver joy, autonomy, and a sense of identity—not just utility.

Seniors are drawn to luxury not for function alone, but for how it affirms identity. A 2025 study by Bargaoui found that older adults associate luxury consumption with emotional reward and self-worth—a signal that indulgence and aspiration are still core drivers well past middle age.

This shift in consumer behavior necessitates a reevaluation of product positioning strategies. For instance, hearing aids are increasingly marketed not just as medical devices but as lifestyle enhancers that seamlessly integrate with other technologies. Apple’s approach to product design exemplifies this trend. Features like Voice Control and fall detection are incorporated into devices like the iPhone and Apple Watch, offering functionality that appeals to seniors without overtly targeting them as a separate demographic.

The same logic applies outside of tech. In the UK, older travellers are fueling demand for immersive rail experiences built around comfort, not spectacle. In Southeast Asia, seniors are driving bookings at wellness retreats that blend self-care with cultural depth.

Why the Marketing World Still Prioritizes Youth

Despite the growing economic influence of older consumers, advertising strategies continue to disproportionately target younger demographics. This focus persists even as individuals aged 50 and above contribute significantly to consumer spending.

In the United States, consumers over 50 account for more than half of all consumer spending. However, only 5–10% of marketing budgets are allocated to engage this demographic . This disparity is not limited to the U.S.; in the United Kingdom, over-50s represent a third of the population and hold 80% of the nation’s wealth, yet they remain largely invisible in advertising campaigns

Several factors contribute to this imbalance. One is the composition of the advertising industry itself. According to Forbes, only 5% of ad agency employees are over 50, and most do not work in creative departments . This lack of age diversity within agencies can lead to a limited understanding of older consumers’ preferences and needs.

There remains a persistent stereotype that older consumers are less receptive to digital media. Yet data shows adults aged 55 and above now spend over half (54.4%) of their media time online—a shift that challenges the industry’s long-held assumptions.

Neglecting the older demographic not only overlooks a substantial market segment but also poses risks to brand relevance and loyalty. Competitors who recognize and address the needs of older consumers can capture market share and build lasting relationships. The influence of older consumers isn’t coming. It’s already reshaping how value is defined across categories—from beauty to tech to travel. Brands still tethered to a youth-first playbook aren’t just behind the trend—they’re blind to where the momentum has moved.

Meeting Older Consumers Where They Are

A handful of brands are beginning to adjust course—not by singling out older consumers with age-stamped campaigns, but by rethinking product design, messaging, and experience in ways that recognize the influence and expectations of this group.

L’Oréal has expanded its age-inclusive approach beyond token representation. In markets like the UK and Japan, it has invested in research and formulation targeting mature skin, while casting women over 60 in its mainstream campaigns—not in niche “silver” editions. What’s notable is the absence of the patronizing tone that once marked age-focused advertising. The positioning is subtle: aspirational without being age-anxious, confident without being corrective.

In travel, companies like Viking and Belmond have seen a surge in demand from older travelers seeking richer, more immersive journeys over fast-paced itineraries. These brands have responded by retooling the product—not just offering mobility-friendly options, but reshaping the tone of travel itself. Longer stays, expert-led local immersion, and a focus on comfort over spectacle have proven to resonate. It’s not age that defines the appeal, but sensibility.

Tech companies have also begun to shift. Apple, as noted, integrates accessibility features across its product suite, yet never markets them explicitly as “senior” tools. Voice commands, larger interfaces, and health tracking appeal to all users, but are particularly beneficial for older ones. This universality is intentional—and effective. In 2023, adoption of the Apple Watch among consumers aged 60 and above increased by more than 25% year over year, according to Counterpoint Research.

In Southeast Asia, telcos and financial platforms are investing in UX overhauls aimed at improving digital fluency for older users. Singtel’s wellness and lifestyle offerings for seniors, for instance, go beyond low-cost data plans to include curated content, concierge services, and simple app layouts tailored to common needs. The pitch isn’t that seniors are less tech-savvy—it’s that good design should accommodate everyone.

These brands succeed not by targeting older consumers differently—but by removing age as a constraint. Their advantage lies in recognizing behavior, not categorizing it.

For brands looking to operationalize these insights, the following cheat sheet outlines actionable ways to better engage senior consumers across touchpoints—from UX and messaging to service and product design.

How to Appeal to Senior Consumers

Category	Best Practices
Customer Understanding	– Segment by behavior, not just age- Use in-depth interviews and observational research, not just online surveys
UX & Product Design	– Font size ≥ 14–16pt, high contrast text- Simple, intuitive navigation- Large touch zones (≥44x44px)- Screen reader–friendly code- Clear, concise copy without jargon- Progress indicators and confirmation messages- Design with accessibility (WCAG) in mind
Customer Service	– Maintain responsive phone support- Use empathetic, clear communication- Ensure continuity across channels (phone, in-store, digital)- Offer personalized follow-up (call, mail, or email)
Marketing Channels	– Email (well-targeted, not overwhelming)- Google Search (strong SEO and PPC)- Facebook (high usage globally among 60+)- YouTube (growing for how-tos, lifestyle)- Traditional media (TV, print) still valuable in key sectors
Messaging & Tone	– Aspirational, not patronizing- Purpose-led (quality, legacy, sustainability)- Emotionally intelligent (family, community, joy)
	– Feature active, diverse older adults—not stereotypes
Product & Service	– Prioritize ergonomic, easy-to-use design- Offer modular or personalized options- Highlight safety, quality, and customer support- Allow for trials or no-commitment use (especially for tech or wellness)

Age Is No Longer a Signal of Decline—It’s a Forecast of Opportunity

For decades, brands have treated older consumers as the end point of a lifecycle—an audience to retain, not one to build around. That logic no longer holds. Seniors are not only outliving the systems built to serve them—they are outspending, outpacing, and, increasingly, out-influencing expectations.

They are the early adopters of wellness routines previously marketed to 30-somethings, the repeat buyers of luxury services, and the most consistent upgraders of home technology. Their behavior is not defined by age, but by intent. And if there’s one insight brands should act on now, it’s this: longevity is no longer just a medical issue. It’s a commercial one.

Their economic power is growing, but their motivations remain misunderstood. Too often, research flattens them into averages, surveys them through outdated assumptions, and overlooks the complexity that defines their choices. This is not just a missed opportunity. It’s a strategic blind spot.

To lead in the decade ahead, brands need to stop asking how to market to older consumers and start asking what they are telling us through the choices they make. That shift—from messaging to meaning—is where research proves its value. Not in confirming what we think we know, but in uncovering the complexity we’ve long overlooked.

In a marketplace increasingly driven by flexibility, aspiration, and self-determination, it may be the oldest consumers who are best positioned to show us what the future looks like. But only if we ask better questions—and actually listen.

Looking to better understand the evolving expectations of senior consumers—or any audience segment reshaping your market? At Kadence International, we help brands uncover the insights that drive results. Through in-depth research across key global markets, we go beyond demographics to decode behaviors, motivations, and emerging opportunities. Let’s start working together today.

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Today, every brand has a dashboard problem.

Real-time data tracks everything. Purchase paths are mapped down to the millisecond. Heatmaps show where consumers hover and hesitate. The real-time analytics market is booming, valued at $25 billion in 2023 and projected to reach $193.71 billion by 2032.

But in the race to be data-led, something is breaking.

Creativity gets boxed in by past behavior. Brand identity erodes under the weight of what’s trending. Short-term metrics win out over long-term vision.

Now, some of the world’s most ambitious brands are pushing back.

From fashion houses to fintech startups, companies are flipping the script — treating data not as a decision-maker but as a decision-support tool. This is data-informed leadership, where numbers sharpen instincts but never replace them.

Because the brands shaping the future aren’t the ones following the dashboard. They’re the ones willing to look up from it.

This is a real power move. This isn’t about ignoring data. It’s about knowing its place.

When Data Leads, Brands Lose Their Edge

Nowhere is the fallout of being data-led more visible than in marketing departments locked in endless loops of optimization.

Look at the wave of direct-to-consumer brands that flooded social feeds over the past decade. Fueled by performance marketing metrics – clickthrough rates, conversion percentages, cost-per-acquisition – these companies became masters of the micro-adjustment. Headlines were A/B tested to exhaustion. Product pages shifted based on heatmaps. Ads were churned out by the dozen, tweaked and re-tweaked until only the most clickable version survived.

Yet, many of these brands began to blur into one another – stripped of personality, chasing the same lookalike audiences with the same algorithm-friendly formulas.

Optimizing for KPIs without a clear brand compass is how brands lose their edge. The numbers might show what’s working now, but they rarely tell you whether anyone will care about your brand a year from now.

This is the risk brands face when they let data lead: it pulls them toward what’s proven, not what’s possible. It creates echo chambers of past behavior. And in a market where consumers crave identity, meaning, and human connection, it’s not enough to follow what the dashboard says.

Because the brands that are remembered – the ones people talk about, love, and come back to – don’t just follow patterns. They break them.

Data Can’t Read the Room

Data can tell you what people clicked. It can tell you how long they hovered over a product image. But it can’t tell you what made them laugh at the dinner table. It can’t decode why a slogan fell flat. And it certainly can’t predict the next cultural wave before it hits.

This is where market research proves its value – not as a report card on past behavior, but as a lens into the emerging culture, unmet needs, and emotional drivers that dashboards can’t track. Qualitative studies, ethnographic research, and in-depth interviews offer what raw analytics can’t: context, nuance, and human stories that decode the why behind the what.

Brands chasing data-led decisions often learn this the hard way. Take Pepsi’s 2017 advertisement featuring Kendall Jenner. The campaign aimed to resonate with younger audiences by aligning with themes of unity and protest – elements that data likely indicated were essential to this demographic. However, the execution was widely criticized for appearing to trivialize serious social justice movements, leading to public backlash and the eventual withdrawal of the ad.

This is where market research proves its value, not as a report card on past behavior, but as a lens into the emerging culture, unmet needs, and emotional drivers that dashboards can’t track. Qualitative studies, ethnographic research, and in-depth interviews offer what raw analytics can’t: context, nuance, and human stories that decode the why behind the what.

Where performance data might highlight rising engagement on social content using trending slang, a well-run focus group or semiotic analysis could reveal whether that language resonates, or risks alienating the audience by trying too hard. Research would have focused on tone, cultural sensitivity, and perceived authenticity long before backlash hit the feed. It doesn’t just show whether people noticed. It uncovers how they felt and why it matters.

Smart brands are starting to push back — treating data not as gospel but as one of many inputs in a much messier, more human process of understanding what matters to people.

This misstep underscores a critical limitation of data-led strategies: while analytics can highlight trends, they often lack the contextual understanding necessary to navigate complex cultural landscapes. Relying solely on data without human insight can result in messages that miss the mark, alienating the very audiences they intend to engage.

Smart brands are starting to push back – treating data not as gospel but as one of many inputs in a much messier, more human process of understanding what matters to people.

Data-Informed Brands Are Playing the Long Game

Across industries, a quiet shift is happening. The most resilient brands aren’t the ones chasing every data blip — they’re the ones brave enough to zoom out.

Consider Ben & Jerry’s, the iconic ice cream brand known for its bold flavors and unapologetic activism. In 2020, the company launched “Justice ReMix’d,” a limited-edition flavor supporting criminal justice reform. The campaign generated widespread buzz, and sales surged. Customers flooded social media and retail partners with requests to make the flavor permanent.

A data-led strategy might have given in. The metrics were strong, and the demand was obvious. But Ben & Jerry’s made a different call.

They chose to keep it a one-off, not because the numbers weren’t there, but because the long-term brand strategy was. The flavor wasn’t just a bestseller; it was a statement. Part of that impact came from its temporary nature—using ice cream as a cultural spotlight, not just a product.

This is what data-informed decision-making looks like: using numbers to gauge impact, but staying grounded in brand purpose. Sales figures and social metrics mattered, but didn’t override the strategic intent. Ben & Jerry’s understood the difference between what was popular now and what was authentic long term.

It’s the same muscle that other data-informed companies are flexing. They use data to pressure-test their instincts, to spark ideas, to avoid blind spots, but never to replace judgment. They know the difference between reacting and leading.

And in an era where consumers see right through opportunism, playing the long game isn’t just smart. It’s survival.

Case Study: Hugo Boss – Using Data to Guide Creativity, Not Replace It

Background

Hugo Boss, one of the world’s leading fashion brands, faced the same challenge confronting many legacy companies: how to embrace digital transformation without losing its creative edge. Under CEO Daniel Grieder, appointed in 2021, the company set an ambitious goal: to double sales to €4 billion by 2025.

Central to this ambition was a bold shift in strategy: becoming more data-driven while staying brand-led.

What the Hugo Boss Did

As part of its €150 million “Claim 5” strategy, Hugo Boss invested €15 million in a new Digital Campus in Gondomar, Portugal. This hub was designed to harness advanced data analytics across product design, marketing, and sales – creating faster feedback loops and operational efficiency.

But crucially, the company drew a line. Data was used to inform creative teams, not to dictate their decisions.

Designers still led product development based on brand vision and long-term strategy. Data helped validate ideas, identify emerging trends, and sharpen customer insights – but final decisions stayed rooted in brand instinct and creative direction.

Outcome

Hugo Boss’s approach has positioned it as a front-runner among heritage fashion brands navigating digital transformation. By resisting the trap of becoming purely data-led, the brand has maintained its distinct identity while accelerating growth.

Since implementing the strategy, Hugo Boss reported record sales in 2023 and is tracking ahead of its 2025 targets. Industry analysts have cited the company’s ability to blend creativity with smart data use as a key differentiator in a hyper-competitive market.

As CEO Daniel Grieder put it:
“Data can show us what’s happening – but creativity shows us what’s next.”

Product Teams Want Direction, Not Dictation

Inside product teams, the mood is shifting. For all the power of dashboards and predictive models, there’s growing fatigue with treating data like a final answer key.

Data shows you where the traffic is, not where the road should go. If teams only respond to what’s already happening, they’re not innovating; they’re following.

This is why product teams at some of the world’s most agile companies are moving away from absolutist, data-led roadmaps. Instead, they’re asking for directional data – insights that point to opportunity areas without shutting down creative thinking.

Increasingly, product development teams are leaning on market research not just to validate ideas but to shape them early – using consumer co-creation, concept testing, and journey mapping to pressure-test decisions before they go live. Research isn’t the finish line. It’s the starting point for informed creativity.

Consider Fisdom, a leading Indian fintech company. Through extensive UX research, Fisdom discovered that placing the Know Your Customer (KYC) form at the beginning of the signup process was a significant barrier for new users. By moving the KYC step to the end of the signup flow, they reduced friction and saw a notable increase in user completions. This change was guided not just by analytics but by a deeper understanding of user behavior and preferences.

This kind of data-informed decision-making is harder. It requires teams to accept ambiguity, weigh trade-offs, and trust their understanding of the customer beyond the numbers.

But it’s also where differentiation lives.

In the end, the smartest brands aren’t anti-data. They’re pro-human. They combine what the dashboard says with what market research uncovers – using evidence to sharpen their instincts, not replace them.

Data will always tell you what people did yesterday. Brand instinct decides what they’ll care about tomorrow.

Smart brands know the difference. The rest are just watching the dashboard.

At Kadence International, we help brands turn data into direction. As a global market research agency, we uncover the human insights behind the numbers, helping brands move with confidence, not (just) caution.

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British shoppers are entering a new era of grocery buying – less impulsive, more deliberate, and increasingly shaped by price. Grocery inflation rose to 3.5 percent in March, capping off two years of compounded cost pressure. Supermarket sales have softened, not because people are walking away, but because they’re buying fewer items and skipping anything that doesn’t feel essential.

Essentials are winning, volume is shrinking, and price has become the lead story. This shift isn’t just thrift – it’s agency. After months of rising bills and economic fatigue, shoppers are regaining a sense of control by editing their baskets. That often means skipping branded goods and sticking to private labels.

Discounters are reaping the gains. Aldi’s market share is up to 11 percent, and Lidl is outpacing rivals in sales growth. But this isn’t just about who’s winning – it’s about how. Shoppers aren’t compromising; they’re recalibrating. Value now means quality at the right price, not a badge name. What’s happening isn’t tactical – it’s behavioral.

What distinguishes this period from past inflation spikes is the speed and confidence of the switch. Brand loyalty, long considered a mainstay of British retail, is now a conditional contract. If a supermarket can’t justify its price point – through quality, loyalty perks, or convenience – shoppers will walk.

Retailers are moving fast to keep up: shrinking private-label ranges to what works, tuning promotions, and reframing value as a daily promise. On paper, it looks like a margin problem. In reality, it’s a permanent shift in how households define value – and there’s little reason to think it’ll snap back.

This isn’t a belt-tightening moment. It’s a consumer reorientation. People aren’t just buying less; they’re buying differently. And in doing so, they’re quietly forcing a reset in how the UK grocery industry defines, delivers, and earns loyalty.

Inflation at the Checkout: What’s Really Driving the Shift?

Walk through any UK supermarket right now, and the change isn’t just in the receipt – it’s in the way people are shopping. Labels are read more slowly. Own-brand products are picked up, put back, then chosen again. Familiar items suddenly feel like indulgences.

What’s happening at the checkout isn’t just about price increases. It’s a psychological shift. Shoppers aren’t just spending less – they’re thinking differently. The same budget now feels tighter, not only because of higher prices but because of how those prices are being perceived.

Anchoring is one reason. Consumers aren’t comparing this week’s price to last week’s – they’re comparing it to what they used to pay before “everything got expensive.” That reference point, even if outdated, sticks. When a block of cheese crosses the £3 mark, it doesn’t matter if it’s only a 5p rise – it’s crossed an invisible line. And that line reshapes everything around it.

Mental accounting adds another layer. People are rebalancing invisible budgets in their heads. Spend £2 more on milk, and that £2 has to come from somewhere else. They’re not just making trade-offs – they’re making calculations. Essentials stay, extras go, and even mid-tier items are under scrutiny if there’s a cheaper equivalent close by.

Then there’s price perception. It’s not what something costs – it’s what it feels like it should cost. That’s why a 10% rise might barely dent volume in one category but trigger a collapse in another. It’s not rational, but it’s real – and it’s guiding what goes in the basket.

For retailers and brands, this moment demands more than sharper pricing. It requires fluency in how shoppers frame value. That might mean pricing just below emotional thresholds or structuring offers that signal stability – even when costs are climbing. In this climate, perception can be as powerful as reality.

What does inflation feel like in real terms? The chart below shows just how much everyday items have risen since 2020.

How-inflation-has-impacted-the-everyday-basket-in-the-UK

Brand Erosion in the Era of the Basket Reboot

Brand loyalty isn’t dead – but it’s under review. Across the UK, what once felt automatic is now under scrutiny. Shoppers are looking at familiar labels, hesitating, and reaching for something cheaper – often store-brand, often good enough.

It’s not just trading down. It’s trading out. The basket reset happening now is exposing which brands still hold meaning and which were riding on habit. In categories like cereal, canned goods, and pasta sauces, private label has moved from backup plan to first choice. When shoppers feel squeezed, brand preference isn’t about awareness – it’s about justification.

The most vulnerable brands are the ones that rely on shelf presence and recognition without clearly articulating why they cost more. A fancy label or nostalgic logo doesn’t hold up when the price delta is visible, and the value isn’t. Own-label is no longer the compromise – it’s the baseline.

Supermarkets know this. That’s why they’ve built out three-tiered private label strategies: essential ranges for price-sensitive shoppers, core lines that match national brands on quality, and premium sub-brands designed to compete with legacy products on both taste and packaging. In many cases, they’re winning on all three fronts.

Branded suppliers are feeling the squeeze. Promotions are being pulled. Negotiations are tighter. Some products are being delisted entirely as retailers prioritize margin and private-label growth. Even in higher-margin categories like snacks and beverages, shoppers are experimenting more – and defaulting less.

This moment demands more than marketing. It demands a proposition that holds up under pressure. Brands that offer clear functional benefits – whether that’s health, sustainability, or convenience – still earn a place. But those that relied on emotional inertia are being quietly swapped out, one basket at a time.

The question for consumer goods companies isn’t just how to defend share. It’s how to rebuild relevance. Because if shoppers are open to changing their habits, they’re also open to forgetting the brands that no longer reflect how they want to spend.

Also, read our study on the UK’s Cost of Living Crisis here.

The New Class of Smart Shoppers

Frugality has rebranded itself – and fast. What used to be framed as a necessity or even a source of quiet shame has become a signal of control, intention, and in many cases, pride. The UK’s cost-of-living pressures have given rise to a new kind of grocery shopper: not just cost-conscious, but value-literate.

This isn’t driven solely by economics. It’s cultural. Discount shopping has moved out of the shadows and into the spotlight. TikTok is full of haul videos not from high-end retailers, but from Aldi and Lidl – highlighting bulk buys, dupes, and smart swaps. The tone isn’t apologetic. It’s instructional. Look what I saved. Look how much farther I stretched my budget. There’s a certain confidence in the captions: “You’d be mad to pay more.”

Digital tools have amplified the shift. Couponing, once a paper-based pursuit of extreme savers, has gone mobile and mainstream. Apps like Too Good To Go and supermarket loyalty platforms now offer real-time deals that reward flexibility, not just spending. Younger shoppers – especially millennials with families and Gen Z renters – are building grocery strategies around digital offers and flash pricing. Price matching isn’t a race to the bottom; it’s a form of skill.

What’s changed is the identity that surrounds all this. Saving money used to imply you didn’t have it. Now, it implies you’re informed. Especially among middle-income shoppers, there’s been a quiet erosion of stigma. Being a “deal hunter” no longer contradicts being design-conscious or health-focused. You can buy the store-brand canned tomatoes and still splurge on artisanal olive oil. You can track every penny and still care about the story behind your coffee.

This hybrid mindset – blending thrift and selectivity – is what many legacy brands are still struggling to read. Their customers didn’t disappear. They just rewrote the rules of what makes a product worth paying for.

It’s no longer enough to assume aspiration equals premium. In this landscape, brands have to justify every line of the receipt. They need to speak the language of value – but not just through lower prices. It’s about usefulness, quality, longevity, and emotional return on spend.

Smart shoppers aren’t waiting for brands to get it. They’re building baskets that reflect who they are now – pragmatic, digitally fluent, and empowered by information, not overwhelmed by it. The question isn’t whether this shift will last. It’s whether brands can keep up with customers who’ve stopped equating value with volume – and started defining it for themselves.

Retailers Rewrite the Rules

Retailers have stopped waiting for shoppers to come back to old habits. Instead, they’re adapting to new ones – fast. The traditional promotional cycle, once built around limited-time offers and seasonal spikes, has been replaced by something more fundamental: proving long-term value in real-time.

That shift is showing up everywhere. Tesco’s Clubcard Prices and Sainsbury’s Nectar Prices have moved from reward mechanics to central pricing strategies. What began as a loyalty tactic is now a core part of how these retailers compete with discounters. And it’s not just about price. It’s about visibility. Price tags on shelves now tell a story of what the customer is saving, not just spending.

Even premium grocers are adjusting. Waitrose, long associated with quality-first positioning, has expanded its Essentials range and emphasized value messaging in advertising. Its recent campaigns have spotlighted affordability without abandoning tone, suggesting that smart shopping doesn’t have to mean compromise.

But nowhere is the shift more aggressive than in private label. Across the sector, own-brand lines have become the innovation lab. Aldi and Lidl continue to lead, not just with price, but with product development that mirrors – and sometimes beats – national brands. The battleground isn’t just about matching flavor or format anymore. It’s about convenience, sustainability, and shopper emotion. A well-packaged ready meal that costs less and feels like a small win at the end of a long day? That’s more powerful than a deep discount.

Retailers are also experimenting with format. Smaller footprint stores are popping up in urban areas, designed around the grab-and-go shopper who wants efficiency, not abundance. Meal deals, shoppable recipes, “value hacks” – all of it engineered to speak the new shopper’s language: stretch, save, simplify.

Marketing has evolved in step. Circulars and point-of-sale have been replaced by in-app push notifications, hyper-local personalization, and digital shelves that highlight time-sensitive offers. Messaging is less about indulgence and more about empowerment. You’re not just saving money; you’re being smart. You’re beating the system.

The result is a retail environment where success no longer comes from a breadth of range or deepest pockets. It comes from relevance – knowing who your customer is today, what trade-offs they’re willing to make, and how to meet them with the right balance of function, emotion, and frictionless value.

Case Study: How Aldi Became the Benchmark for Value With Purpose

Aldi’s rise in the UK has long been tied to price, but its current momentum speaks to something deeper: cultural relevance. While many retailers are reacting to consumer caution, Aldi has anticipated it – shaping not just how people shop but also how they think about spending.

Its private label dominance is no longer just about cost-cutting. Aldi has invested heavily in product development and packaging design that challenges branded equivalents, often earning accolades in blind taste tests. Shoppers aren’t settling – they’re discovering. Categories like wine, ready meals, and snacks now generate loyalty not as substitutes, but as preferred choices.

Where Aldi’s strategy truly stands out is in how it aligns with emerging shopper identity. The brand doesn’t apologize for low prices. It builds pride around them. Recent campaigns have leaned into humor and confidence, casting Aldi customers as smart, in-the-know shoppers rather than bargain hunters. The brand’s “Like Brands. Only Cheaper.” messaging isn’t defensive – it’s disruptive.

In-store, Aldi’s stripped-back format reinforces that every inch of shelf space must earn its keep. The tight range, fast checkout model, and curated promotions reflect a retailer that understands time, budget, and simplicity as core values – not just marketing points.

Aldi isn’t winning by chasing premium. It’s winning by reshaping what premium means in the mind of today’s value-driven consumer.

What Comes Next for Grocery, Brand Building, and British Retail

This isn’t just a cycle – it’s a structural shift. The current realignment in UK grocery is forcing a deeper redefinition of how brands are built, how value is communicated, and what kind of loyalty can actually be sustained in a low-growth, high-scrutiny environment.

The old model – premium equals quality, discount equals compromise – has fractured. What’s rising in its place is a hybrid mindset: shoppers who blend store brands and branded goods, who track savings as a personal KPI, and who want clarity in place of clutter. For brands and retailers, the challenge is no longer just about margin. It’s about meaning.

Products will still matter – but the story around them matters more. Why this? Why now? Why at this price? The brands that survive won’t just be better stocked or better known – they’ll be better understood. That means strategy rooted in real consumer behavior, not assumptions. It means investing in insight before investing in shelf space.

We’ve entered an era where margins are thinner, decisions faster, and the consumer’s tolerance for noise almost nonexistent. The winners will be those who can decode the mindset behind the spend – what drives trust, what cues value, what kills interest – and adapt before the data shows up in declining sales.

For British retail, this could be a renaissance moment. But it will favor the precise, not the broad. Those who treat their audience as a living, evolving signal – not a static segment – those who invest in listening as much as launching.

Because the real growth ahead won’t come from pushing more into baskets. It will come from knowing what truly earns a place there.

A Market Redefined by Value Will Reshape the Industry

What’s happening in UK grocery right now isn’t a blip. It’s a reset. A recalibration of trust, relevance, and what constitutes a purchase worth making.

For brands, the margin for error has collapsed. Shoppers are not just selective – they’re strategic. They aren’t waiting to be impressed. They’re asking harder questions: Is this worth it? Is this credible? Does it deliver more than just a label?

Retailers that respond with nuance – not just price cuts – are the ones shaping the future. The discounter isn’t the disruptor anymore; it’s the new center of gravity. Traditional grocers that once competed on scale or loyalty must now compete on understanding. That means fewer assumptions, more clarity, and a sharper grasp on how value is perceived – not just priced.

Consumer behavior isn’t snapping back. Once a shopper has built a new mental model of spending – one grounded in empowerment, not deprivation – it tends to stick. The post-abundance era doesn’t signal a withdrawal from consumption. It signals a new consciousness around it.

Over the next five years, British retail will be defined not by who shouts the loudest but by who listens best. That requires precision, pattern recognition, and real, ongoing intelligence on the evolving expectations of the people pushing the trolleys.

Smart brands won’t just ride this out. They’ll use it to rebuild better – on foundations that reflect today’s shopper, not yesterday’s playbook.

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When wallets tighten, lipstick sales often loosen.

Beauty counters are buzzing across the US and UK – even as consumers pull back on big-ticket splurges like fashion, tech, and travel. Luxury lipsticks, skincare serums, and fragrances are flying off shelves, offering shoppers a small but satisfying escape from financial uncertainty.

It’s a familiar phenomenon with a new edge. Known as the “lipstick effect,” this pattern sees consumers trading down on larger purchases while indulging in little luxuries that deliver an instant emotional lift. But today’s version is shaped not just by economic pressures – but also by a cultural obsession with self-care.

In recent weeks, prestige beauty sales have proven remarkably resilient. According to Circana (formerly NPD Group), the U.S. prestige beauty market experienced an 8% growth in the first half of 2024, reaching $15.3 billion. In the UK, similar trends are playing out, with consumers leaning into beauty rituals to brighten up bleak headlines.

And it’s not just older shoppers who are clinging to old habits. Younger consumers – especially Millennials and Gen Z – drive this feel-good spending, treating beauty buys as affordable wellness investments in anxious times.

Younger Consumers Lead the Way

While beauty spending cuts across generations, younger consumers are shaping what small luxury looks like today.

Millennials and Gen Z – already steeped in self-care culture – keep beauty at the top of their shopping lists, even as they cut back on bigger lifestyle purchases like fashion or tech. For these consumers, beauty buys are less about occasional splurges and more about everyday wellness routines.

Fragrance layering, skincare rituals, and makeup experimentation have become embedded in how younger shoppers navigate stress and self-expression. Beauty products are positioned not just as cosmetics but as affordable tools for relaxation, creativity, and confidence.

Social media continues to fuel this behavior, turning beauty trends into global moments overnight. Viral skincare products, fragrance hacks, and affordable luxury recommendations constantly shape younger shoppers’ wishlists.

For a generation that values both experience and accessibility, small luxuries in beauty offer the perfect balance – indulgent enough to feel special and practical enough to justify the spend.

How Beauty Retailers Are Responding

Beauty retailers are moving quickly to meet consumers where they are – in search of small luxuries that feel special and attainable.

Premium beauty brands are expanding their ranges of travel-sized products, mini sets, and giftable formats to capture demand from shoppers looking for affordable indulgences. Retailers like Sephora and Ulta Beauty in the US have invested heavily in “trial and discovery” zones, allowing consumers to experiment with high-end skincare, makeup, and fragrance at lower prices.

In the UK, while mass-market chains like Boots may not operate in the luxury segment, they are leaning into accessible self-care with curated beauty edits, exclusive product bundles, and limited-time offers – helping cost-conscious consumers stretch their budgets without sacrificing quality.

Luxury fragrance brands are also innovating, offering layering bars, engraving stations, and bespoke consultation services in flagship stores, creating memorable experiences around smaller purchases.

Online, digital personalization has become a powerful tool. Beauty retailers are enhancing their platforms with tailored product recommendations, virtual try-ons, and rewards programs designed to keep shoppers engaged between purchases – reinforcing beauty as a repeat treat rather than a rare splurge.

For the industry, this pivot toward small luxuries isn’t just a response to the moment – it’s emerging as a long-term strategy for growth in a market where big-ticket spending remains unpredictable.

Luxury Brands Winning with Small Indulgences

Tom Ford Beauty – Turning Wellness into a Fragrance Success

Image Credit: Escentual
Background

Tom Ford Beauty, under Estée Lauder Companies, is best known for its ultra-luxurious positioning in fragrance and beauty. But as consumer demand shifted toward wellness and self-care, the brand saw an opportunity to evolve its narrative beyond glamour and sensuality.

Strategy

In 2024, Tom Ford Beauty launched Bois Pacifique, a fragrance inspired by founder Tom Ford’s childhood memories of Big Sur, California. The product was positioned within the growing wellness fragrance space – marketed as a calming, nature-inspired scent designed for emotional well-being.

Beyond the product, Estée Lauder doubled down on its ambitions for Tom Ford Beauty following its $2.8 billion brand acquisition in late 2022. The brand leaned on storytelling, innovation, and the strength of its global distribution network to fuel growth.

Outcome

Bois Pacifique is projected to generate $50 million in sales within its first launch year.
Prior to the acquisition, Tom Ford Beauty reported nearly 25% net sales growth in its fiscal year ending June 2022.
Estée Lauder has set an ambitious target for Tom Ford Beauty to reach $1 billion in annual net sales by the end of 2024.

(Sources: Vogue Business, Luxury Tribune)

YSL Beauty – Leveraging Digital Influence for Small Luxury Growth

Image Credit: Fashion Gone Rogue

Background

Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) Beauty, part of L’Oréal Group, is a leading player in prestige beauty with a strong foothold in fragrance, makeup, and skincare. Recognizing the power of digital culture – especially among Gen Z and Millennials – YSL Beauty has heavily invested in influencer-driven marketing and social media campaigns.

Strategy

Throughout 2023 and early 2024, YSL Beauty collaborated with high-profile celebrities like Dua Lipa while boosting its presence across TikTok and Instagram. The brand amplified visibility during key moments like Fashion Week, creating shareable content and interactive campaigns that resonated with younger, trend-savvy consumers.

Product innovation also remained at the heart of YSL Beauty’s strategy, with mini-sized offerings and discovery sets crucial to driving trial and engagement.

Outcome

YSL Beauty recorded a 94% surge in Earned Media Value (EMV) between April 2023 and March 2024.
Total impressions increased by 109%, reaching 9.1 billion during the same period.
The brand saw a 314% year-over-year growth in TikTok EMV, underscoring its success in capturing younger audiences on digital platforms.

Why This Trend May Last

What began as a response to economic uncertainty is fast becoming a new consumer habit – and beauty brands are betting it’s here to stay.

Unlike larger discretionary purchases, beauty products deliver instant gratification and emotional value. A new lipstick, a signature scent, or a skincare upgrade offers a quick mood boost — often for the price of a night out or less. In uncertain times, that balance of affordability and emotional return on investment is hard to beat.

The growing cultural emphasis on self-care is also reinforcing this behavior. For many consumers — especially younger ones — small beauty purchases are no longer occasional splurges but regular acts of personal wellness. A face mask or fragrance isn’t just about appearance — it’s tied to relaxation, routine, and identity.

Even if economic conditions improve, retailers and brands are unlikely to abandon strategies built around accessible luxury. Discovery sets, travel-sized products, and personalized shopping experiences are proving effective at driving loyalty and repeat purchases.

Beauty’s resilience in the face of economic pressures offers a glimpse of how future retail may evolve: not necessarily bigger, but smarter — built on emotional connection, small indulgences, and everyday moments of joy.

For consumers navigating an unpredictable world, the little luxuries may well become the ones that last.

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