How Chinese consumer priorities shift in 2025

Accenture data reveals 86% now prioritize health monitoring while brand loyalty collapses and domestic products capture 43% of beauty market as Chinese consumers rebuild security in uncertain times.

• Domestic brand preference in beauty surged from 12% to 43% between 2021 and 2025, overtaking international brands for the first time

• 55% of consumers now actively compare multiple brands even when they have favorites, up 13pp, signaling death of brand loyalty

• AI tool adoption hit 77% across all age groups, with 57% now preferring AI over family and friends for exploring new product categories

• 68% of consumers report indifference or negative reaction to marketing content, with 22% saying it actively reduces purchase intent

• Consumer priority hierarchy shifted toward health and wealth accumulation, with attention rising 9pp and 8pp respectively while career focus declined

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According to Accenture’s latest Consumer Insights report, preference shifts represent not just market share redistribution but fundamental changes in purchase logic.

The numbers tell the story of incumbents losing ground. In beauty and skincare, domestic brands captured 43% preference by 2025, up from just 12% four years earlier.

Consumer electronics showed even stronger domestic dominance at 55% preference. International brands maintained leads only in narrow segments, with 54% preference among tier-one city consumers in electronics and 51% among high-income buyers in beauty.

Verifiable value replaces brand premium as purchase driver

85% of consumers cited value for money as the primary reason for choosing domestic brands, an 8pp increase since 2021. But this is not simple price competition.

The shift reflects what analysts call “verifiable value.” Consumers demand demonstrable quality at rational price points rather than accepting brand markups. Product capability perceptions shifted in parallel.

70% of consumers now recognize domestic product quality, up 11pp over the period. Hardware advances from companies like Huawei in communications technology and innovation from beauty brands like Florasis in color cosmetics provided tangible proof points.

Cultural confidence emerged as the third pillar.

Domestic brands integrated traditional Chinese aesthetics with modern design language, creating emotional connection beyond functional attributes. This positioning transformed products into identity markers rather than mere transactions.

The tier-one city data reveals important nuances. While 54% of these consumers still prefer international electronics brands, domestic brands established clear leads in apparel, footwear, and food and beverage. This cross-category pattern indicates comprehensive market restructuring rather than low-end displacement.

Comparison shopping becomes the new normal, eroding loyalty

55% of consumers now frequently compare multiple brands even when they have stated preferences, a 13pp jump from 2021. This behavior change multiplied decision touchpoints and extended consideration windows.

Information channel migration amplified the shift. Live streaming and video platforms became the second-largest information source, surging 28pp since 2021, while family and friend influence dropped 13pp. Consumer information gathering moved from social networks to digital platforms.

The psychological dimension matters more than the mechanical. Over 70% of consumers now view the selection process itself as integral to shopping experience. Consumption evolved from outcome focus to process and outcome balance.

One researcher framed it as autonomy expression. In environments filled with external uncertainty, purchase decisions represent one of few domains consumers fully control. The research and comparison process delivers agency and mastery feelings independent of final choices.

Trust shifts from influencers to internal judgment

Trust mechanism reconfiguration reinforced the trend. Product features, promotional intensity, and marketing novelty showed roughly 10pp increases in impact on customer acquisition, while influencer recommendations and celebrity endorsements declined notably.

Consumers shifted trust from external validators to internal judgment. This represents a fundamental change in how purchasing decisions get made.

Marketing overload triggers active rejection from two-thirds of consumers

68% of consumers report indifference or negative reactions to marketing content, with 22% stating marketing actively reduces purchase desire. This represents a fundamental breakdown in brand communication effectiveness.

The Accenture report characterized consumers as mirrors reflecting brand misunderstanding of authentic needs. When marketing disconnects from real requirements, it generates adverse rather than positive effects. This dynamic forces complete content strategy reconsideration.

Quality matters more than volume. Precision targeting beats saturation campaigns.

Information overload created defensive adaptations. According to Accenture’s Future Life Trends 2025 report, 49% of Chinese consumers question online content authenticity more frequently than one year ago.

In this environment, transparent brand communication became scarce and valuable, generating trust premiums.

Health and wealth displace career ambition in priority rankings

Consumer life focus contracted from idealistic to pragmatic orientations. Health and wealth attention increased 9pp and 8pp respectively, while career, romance, and personal growth priorities all declined. This represents collective mentality adjustment across demographic cohorts.

Generational patterns differed in detail but aligned in direction. Post-1990 and post-2000 groups treat wealth and health as safety buffers, suppressing romance and friendship pursuits. This connects to economic pressure and employment uncertainty facing younger demographics.

The 1970s and 1980s cohort experienced layoff waves that challenged beliefs about work effort producing proportional returns. They redirected toward wealth accumulation as security anchors.

Post-1960s consumers reduced family and career attention while increasing wealth focus and hobby investment, showing late-life self-awareness.

Security triangle: health monitoring, savings, and skill development

Behavior patterns followed mentality shifts. 86% actively monitor physical and mental health, 74% prioritize saving or cost reduction, and 61% pursue skill development or side income. Health, savings, and learning form a security triangle for managing uncertainty.

The China Life Survey confirmed this by showing health status displaced income level as the top happiness determinant. Income impact on happiness declined 25% over five years, marking China’s transition from wealth pursuit to wellbeing pursuit.

AI jumps from practical tool to emotional companion

77% of consumers use AI tools frequently, including 57% of post-1960s users. The speed and breadth of adoption exceeded most predictions. More significantly, AI completed role evolution from instrument to partner.

When exploring new domains, 57% of consumers prefer AI tools, far exceeding video platforms and e-commerce platforms and well above the 35% who consult family and friends. AI dramatically lowered information access barriers.

Role diversity proved striking. 65% view AI as advisor, 63% as assistant, 46% as companion, and 36% as friend. AI progressed from information support to emotional accompaniment, a transformation that will fundamentally reshape brand and consumer interaction models.

Dual challenge: direct engagement and AI visibility

For brands, this creates dual challenges: maintaining direct consumer engagement while ensuring visibility in consumer-AI interaction scenarios.

Eventually, AI may directly execute purchase decisions on behalf of consumers, adding complexity dimensions to brand competition.

Online browsing dominates at 85%, but offline adds emotional value

85% of Chinese consumers browse online, far above global averages. Within this group, 43% prefer online browsing and online purchase, while 42% choose online browsing with offline purchase. This creates a distinctive online-offline fusion pattern.