'Zhais' in China form emergent and insular stay-at-home economy: MEC

According to a joint research effort by MEC and WebInsight, 49 per cent of Chinese consumers living in cities prefer to stay at home during non-working hours. These people fit the Chinese 'Zhai' concept, which has slight hints of the 'Otaku' and 'Cocooner' characteristics in it. Given a choice, they prefer to stay indoors rather than go out, pursuing hobbies and interests from the comfort of their own homes. 

Through shopping online instead of visiting brick ‘n mortar stores; social networking instead of making friends in person; ordering home delivery instead of dining out, they can fulfil most of their needs. 

“Close to half of Chinese consumers self-proclaim that they are 'Zhais' and adopt consumption behavious that usually takes place out-of-home inside their homes," Christian Giunot, president of MEC China said. "This will affect the structure of the market in a big way with the emergence of 'Zhais' as a new consumer segment".

There is a multitude of reasons for the rise of 'Zhais', the report shows. Firstly, the home is a haven from the accelerated pace of life, crowded environment and huge pressures at work. Secondly, broadband penetration in tier-one to -four cities in China is as high as 90 per cent, allowing a vibrant virtual lifestyle for 'Zhais'. Thirdly, some 'Zhais' stay home because of harsh external conditions, such as food safety issues and bad weather. Fourthly, 29 per cent of 'Zhais' stay home simply because they are too lazy to go out. Fifthly, close to one-fifth of 'Zhais' have a strong sense of environmental protection and see staying at home as a way of life for low carbon emissions.

"As 'Zhais' spend most of their time on the internet, we therefore use social listening to learn about them," Robin Chen, research director of WebInsight, said. From monitoring 29,518 Sina Weibo accounts with 'Zhai' as a tag, Chen sees that 'Zhais' behave differently from average  microbloggers.

'Zhais' function in a different time schedule, with many of them most active at night between 7pm to 2 am. They also find a sense of belonging in grassroots key opinion leaders rather than authoritative figures, societal elites or celebrities, judging from the microblog accounts of grassroots KOLs that they follow (42 per cent). These consumers have relatively more needs for cultural and intellectual content; and less interest in public affairs and financial dealings.

"Finding appropriate ways to fulfil their needs are keys to unlocking their spending power," Chen added. The purchase pathways of 'Zhais' indicate a strong preference for social commerce sites. For example, 15 and 12 per cent of 'Zhais' follow the official microblog accounts of Mogujie and Meilishuo, respectively. 

To this end, the report recommends seven tips on how to market to the 'Zhai' segment.

First, provide an in-home version of what is usually available out-of-home, since the home is the most important turf for 'Zhais'. Brands that help improve their living environments are likely to be well-received. Successful instances are Nescafe’s Nespresso which produces coffee that can rival those at Starbucks.

Second, keep 'Zhais' connected, both domestically and globally. What brands can do is to position themselves as a means to bring 'Zhais' up-to-date with their peers in music, travelling and movies. 

Third, entice 'Zhais' to go out—as they stay home precisely due to a lack of good reasons to go out. One recommendation for brands is to host a 'Zhai Festival' in a scenic, touristy spot.

Fourth, bridge the virtual and physical worlds for 'Zhais'. Brands should assist them to traverse the online and offline worlds seamlessly and make sure they do not lose out by staying at home.

Fifth, address the green concerns of 'Zhais'. Brands can be their mentors on environmental issues by emphasising their green visions and missions. 'Zhais' can be their armchair philanthropists when they buy their products and have part of their sales donated to a green cause.

Sixth, actively deploy social commerce when targeting 'Zhais'. Technology for online order placements and social sharing facilities should be built to capture impulse purchases and allow immediate sharing. 

Seventh, use microblogs to the advantage of brands, by talking to them in their language in their preferred social medium. Considering their orientation for ‘fun-first’ and hedonistic experiences, create posts such as practical jokes or food for thought to engage with them, states the report.

MEC first held qualitative in-home depth interviews held in Shanghai, followed by a 12-city (Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Shenyang, Nanjing, Jinan, Jingzhou, Mianyang, Foshan and Xianyang) online survey (N=1200) straddling tier-one to -three cities deployed to understand the preferences of 'Zhais' to stay home. MEC and WebInsight then jointly data-mined 29,518 Sina Weibo accounts that had “zhai” as a tag to understand their microblog behaviour.