It's cool to be a housewife, and other less-obvious consumer trends in China: Y&R

There is a growing acceptance of women (and men) in China who leave their jobs to stay home, according to Y&R China’s head of planning Li Kaiyu. The trend is regarded not as a return to tradition, but a step forward.

It is "a show of self-determinism against historical times when their mothers went out of the home into the public workforce alongside men", said Li.

Women are now more confident to reprioritise life over career. "On the surface this may look like a conservative step backwards, but is a way of re-expressing femininity," he said.

The women’s liberation movement, aiming for women to be independent and working, has reached a bottleneck and is taking a turn, according to Y&R.

That is why there are more women becoming housewives than 10 years ago, when only 38.3 per cent of consumers felt that women were more suited to running homes than holding public office.

In 2011, this had increased by 19 percentage points. Similarly, Y&R found 77.7 per cent of women feeling fulfilled only if they can provide a happy home for their family.

This emerging trend, contrary to current popular perceptions, is one of 10 insights into how attitudes are changing in China.

Focusing on people aged 18 to 34, who have witnessed China’s transformations from an early age, Y&R based its analysis on comparing brand asset evaluation data as they change through time with a series of conversations with these consumers.

This generation of consumers is unique in that they are the first to be re-exposed to branding as commercial marketing came back after a long period of forced absence, said Li.

Their relationship with brands has since matured over the years. While they used to look to brands as a way to keep up with others, they now want to have a more intimate relationship based on knowledge and trust, the study states. 

The implication for brands is they need to learn how to get close to consumers with something of value to offer, so that they keep that lingering in their minds and subsequently spread it to other people.

Other discoveries from Y&R include:

1: Slow Down a Bit! From Urgency to Caution

Newness is not as exciting as before. Change has been the constant and we are beginning to see a decline of interest in things new. People have been exposed to an influx of new things and ideas that forced them to adapt and readapt. They seem to be suffering from fatigue. Instead, people are beginning to want to slow down. They want to feel that they still have a part to play, and the script is not getting changed too fast and too frequently. They need time to learn and figure things out for themselves.

2: Give Us Rules To Follow! From Freedom to Control

The traditional fear of chaos (乱) is coming back. We used to believe that rules were for other people, and breaking rules created advantages; “heroes were born out of chaos”. When nutritional food became poison; bullet trains derailed; prestigious furniture ended up an embarrassment, many promises of change proved to be fantasies. It’s become clear that breaking rules can hurt you and me. As we re-evaluate what’s right and what’s wrong against a background that keeps moving, we pine for direction and guidance.

3: It’s OK to Veg Out! No-Brain Time Needed

"Save the best steel for the blade." We see people increasingly focusing their mental energy on propelling their advancement. In their free time, they choose to ‘dumb down’, a coping mechanism against competition and stress that demands not just physical output, but mental exertion. The adage: "Big intelligence resembles stupidity," is getting more relevant. Being smart is about knowing when to switch the brain on and off.

4: There’s More To Success

People are realising that ‘success’ alone doesn’t make them happy. The ability to manage a balanced life is more important for a sense of satisfaction. 'Success’ is about money, but the power of money is eroded. We used to believe that with money we can escape the dangers of poor quality. We have been proven wrong again and again. Much of what we can buy has been shown to be copycats or fake.  We cannot rely on money alone to be happy. We have to try to strike a balance.