2025年中国新兴城市消费者报告

Table of Contents The lifestyle of emerging-tier cities3.22Howcoffee & milk teawin over emerging-tierconsumers4.28How brands can leverage e-commerce to reachemerging-tier city consumers5.35Hypotheses6.40Why China's emerging-tier markets have untappedpotential1.05How industries penetrate and grow in the emerging-tier market2.12About Daxue Consulting7.43 About our methodologies We scraped and analyzed30million Chinese social media postsaboutemerging-tier marketsto understand howthemarketsdevelopandhowtheyreshapeChinesebusinessmodelsandwhatindustrieswillbenefitfromthisdevelopment.Our analysis explainswhythemarketemerges,themarketscale,andrelatedindustries,andweprovidebrandcasesforaconcreteunderstanding. Social listening analysis 30millionpostsanalyzed 10relatedindustriesincluded 3 social mediaplatforms analyzed Extractedpostsbykeywords(下沉市场emerging-tier markets,下沉经济emerging-tier economy,低线城市Lower-tier cities,县城countytowns,小城市smallcities,三线城市tier3cities,四线城市tier4cities,五线城市tier5cities) RedNote5% Douyin69% Weibo26% Extractedperiodfrom 2023.1to 2025.6 Which Chinese cities are a part of the emerging-tiermarket? As competition for brands in high-tier cities like Shanghai and Beijing gets intense, and the disposable income growth for lower-tier citiesoutpaces high-tier, it’s time for brands to consider their strategy in these often-overlooked areas. “[China]stillhas500millionpeoplewhohavenotused[seated]toiletsand1billionpeoplewhohavenevertakenaplane.Ifwetappartormostofthatdemand,wecanreleasehugegrowthpotential.” -Liu Shijin, Former deputy director at the DevelopmentResearch Center of the State Council of China The emerging-tier market is the next frontier for future market development In 2025, the GDP ofemerging-tiermarkets is expected toreachRMB110trillion.Meanwhile, the per capita disposable income of ruralresidents has grown faster than that of urban residents in recent years. RMB110TrillionGDP Thetotal retail sales of consumer goodsaccountfor roughly 48%of the nationalconsumption,withovertwo-thirdsoffutureconsumptiongrowth expected to originatefromemerging-tiercities. We’reearning a lot more now than when we weregrowingup.Lifefeelsmorecomfortable,andwecanfinallybuythingswewantwithoutthinkingtwice. Source:Shopex Government policies are fueling consumption in emerging markets Investments in infrastructure, digital access, and local industries empower lower-tier residents to spend more, travel more, andparticipate in China’s consumption upgrade. Rural revitalization Urbanization development •China’s national strategy (十四五规划&乡村振兴战略)emphasizes boosting rural incomesthrough agricultural modernization,infrastructure upgrades (roads, utilities, andbroadband), and social investments in housing,healthcare, and education.•Supportsconsumption upgradinginsmaller cities as disposable incomes grow. •Urbanization strategy (城镇化战略):Ongoinginvestment in roads, high-speed rail, airports,and logistics networks improves connectivitybetween lower-tier cities and major hubs. •Expandingtransportation accessunlocksmobility, tourism, and retail opportunities. New digital economy initiatives Support for local tourism •Cultural and tourism development policieshighlight non-first-tier cities as new growthengines.•Subsidies fornight markets, cultural heritageprojects, and rural tourismstrengthen localeconomies and attract urban visitors. •Policies promotee-commerce penetrationin lower-tier cities (via platforms likePinduoduo, JD.com, Douyin).•Digital Countryside Strategy (数字乡村战略):Expands digital infrastructure, enablinglivestream e-commerce and mobile paymentadoption. China’s logistics infrastructure is inching towards 100% national coverage Logisticsreachiskeytoboostinglow-tiercityeconomies.Ruralareasareexperiencingexpandinginfrastructure(county-levelhighways),increasingdeliveryefficiency(morevillagestations),andcuttingcoststhroughtechlikeautomatedsortingandunmanneddelivery. Transportation infrastructure Withexpandedhigh-speedrailandhighwaynetworksreachingeverycounty,nationwidepackagedeliveryhasbecomemoreseamless. Dronestruly shine in remotemountainousvillages •Highways:Atotalof5millionkmofruralroadswillbenationallypavedby2035.In2024,2/3ofprovinceshaveconnectedhighwaystoeachcounty.•High-speedrailway:Until 2025,97%of cities with a population over500,000arecoveredwithhigh-speedrailway,andcoverageisextendedtothosewithsmallerpopulations.•Inland waterways:128,153 kmof navigablewaterways were builtby2023. Justsaw Henan launch its firstpostaldronedeliveryservice forruralareas—apilotprogramwith11routes covering 11 villagesand4,000+residents.Deliverytimeslashedfrom1hourtounder10minutes. Express delivery network Irecalla‘MovingChina’awardee—arural mail carrier who trekkedmountainsondonkeysandhorses,oftenfalling ill from the harshconditions.This is where‘techprogress’feelsmostmeaningful. Chinabuiltacomprehensiveexpressdeliverynetworkspanningurbanandruralareasthroughintegratedpackagestations,distributioncenters