According to UBS Global Research, Chinese women will be the main driver of an expected $5.3 trillion boom in consumer spending in the country in the next decade. Consumption growth will amount to 80% facilitated by a surge in women’s income.
"We forecast Chinese women to have the most impact on China’s consumption growth. We expect the effects of the significant progress in Chinese women’s education in the past 20 years to materialize, improving their social standing, particularly their status in the workplace."
Indeed, over the past years, the role of women in modern Chinese society has been broadened. A greater number of women go to university and then apply for high-paid jobs. This is why their income has risen significantly. "Improving finances for women in China along with the rising share of single-person households could also shift the consumption structure in the country, with more spending in sectors such as pets, healthy food and beer over other traditional consumer sectors", Christine Peng, the head of Greater China consumer sector at UBS Global Research, pointed out.
The expected jump in household consumption means that by 2030, China will provide about 27% of global consumption growth, whereas in the United States, the figure will total only 19%.
However, higher education levels could also adversely affect consumption growth as females prefer to invest a great chunk of their money rather than spend on products like cosmetics, clothes, etc, analysts warned.
