简体中文
01:31
Eating alone, shopping alone, and living alone. Like many singles, Jiang Qinghui has one specific requirement when he's choosing home appliances – they must be small in size.
Single man Jiang said: "The price for large appliances is pretty high. Good mini-size appliances can improve life quality. Now I want to buy another mini-refrigerator for myself."
In 2019, there were about 260 million single adults in the country – about one in three of them lived alone. That proportion is expected to expand by next year. Men account for the majority of the single population – about 60 percent in fact.
China's dating platform Zhen-ai released a report for the fourth quarter of last year. It said more than a third of single people had maintained that status for over three years, while about one in eight single people said they had never been in a relationship.
The survey showed singles spend most of their money on shopping, socializing and travelling.
China is not the first country to embrace the so-called solo culture. If we look at Japan, for example, authorities expect two in five households by 2040 to have just one resident. Consumer goods companies have identified this trend.
On Alibaba's Tmall online marketplace, products like mini-bag rice and small bottles of wine have increased by 30 percent. The sale of self-heating hotpot has nearly doubled, but that's nothing compared to the sudden popularity of instant rice. Even restaurants are now embracing the needs of singles.
Sun Yun, the founder of "23 SEATS" restaurant said: "We want to provide an environment for customers to eat well, in general, the number of customers goes steadily up."
Without the expenses that go with raising a family, single people generally have more disposable income and research says they're looking for ways to spend it.
(Cover image via VCG)
