At the beginning of this summer, I was in Hong Kong, and a couple of days ago, me and my mom were at K11, which is claimed to be the most luxurious mall in the world. We walked into a Balenciga store, and I tried on some t-shirts. It was a huge blow for me when I realized that even though the quality of the cloth was like the T-shirts my elementary school usedto hand out, they were like 10,000 HK$. So why would anyone buy luxury items? 

Since the global coronavirus, the only country in the world to have post-pandemic recovery is China. The global economy is growing,and luxury brands are as well.  China is expected to account for nearly 50% of the global market by 2025. Chinese culture, digital marketing, the middle class expand all contribute to the factor that China is the country that buys the most luxury products.

As more people are born and raised, the middle class will expand, creating a wave of new incoming customers. The average income increase almost threefold from 37,000 to just under 100,000 in ten years. This means more people who have the ability to afford a couple of luxury products like a LV bag or Burberry scarf. Some customers think of luxury purchases as a investment, bring value to heritage brands according to a “longitivtiy” factor .

One of the main reasons for this behavior is called "mianzi". In Chinese culture, “mianzi” translates to your face,  which recognizes your social status. It is based on your background: your job, outfit, accessories, etc. Therefore, when you own a luxurious item, you have “mianzi” to go out to meet friends or just walk out of the door.

34.1 percent of post-00 consumers said that they learned about luxury goods from discussing with their friends, and this peer pressure can then lead to young adults spending money on unnecessarily expensive bags. Many people will spend months paying for a bag that is too expensive for them, just so they could showcase their “high social status”, which can then increase their confidence.

In the digital world nowadays, customers are exposed to digital influence in their journey of luxurious products at some point. Through e-commerce, websites, and social media, customers will be able to pick up on the latest trends, fashionable products, and lifestyles of celebrities. Customers will also be influenced by product promoted by celebrities, or 代言, which also increases the number of customers that by that specific item. 

Luxury products are sold out for various reasons, some because of popular trends, some because of their salary increasing, and others because of social media and e-marketing. After the research I’ve done, it has really given me insight on why Chinese people buy so much luxury.