PARIS: Chinese"Gen Z" shoppers in their early 20s are emerging as an increasingly powerful force in the luxury industry as brands try and tap into buoyant demand for high-end goods in the world's second-biggest economy, consultancy Bain said on Thursday.
But as shopping patterns shift - with fewer Chinese tourists traveling to the United States, and Beijing encouraging more domestic spending with VAT and import tariff cuts - a generational overhaul is also gathering pace. "They are the ones to watch. They are a huge spending force, they are impulse buyers," said Federica Levato, a partner at Bain.American and European brands are trying to work out how best to capture the trend with digital marketing campaigns, and events that"keep up the hype" like concerts or temporary pop-up stores, Levato added.