The following article was originally published by Maternal and Baby Industry Observation
Source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/30jwRXvr1cfynz5JwTbYbg
Rational, wise, cautious, in pursuit of cost-performance and value-performance ratios… Young parents have set their own consumption principles.
However, as consumers shift from wild spending to intelligent consumption—from big spenders to penny pinchers, the collective feeling of brands and channels is that this generation of young parents lacks spending power and desire.
On the one hand, the impact of the market environment makes money hard to earn, which heightens the desire to save. From maternity and baby consumption to family consumption, people are more inclined to buy alternatives, compare prices across platforms, and approach every consumption decision with a rational attitude. On the other hand, post-1990s and post-1995s young parents are becoming more mature in their consumption mindset, no longer blindly supporting big brands, but instead focusing more on the product itself, its appropriateness, texture, and experience.
Now that only less than a quarter of 2024 remains, a new consumer wind is rising yet again. Recently, in the report “Path to 2025: Global Consumer Outlook” released by Nielsen IQ, it was mentioned that over the past year, consumer trends have continued to shift towards the safer end economically. Consumers plan to continue reducing spending on non-essentials such as dining out, outdoor entertainment, and food delivery/takeaway services. Meanwhile, purposeful spending around home entertainment and social gatherings may remain unchanged in 2025.
Focusing on the maternity and baby industry, purpose-driven consumer goods generally have two main characteristics:
First, they lean towards practicality, solving daily necessities in a planned way rather than pursuing “what might be needed in the future,” instead fulfilling “what is just needed now.”
For example, baby food — besides regular milk powder, more niche products tailored for specific groups and diverse scenarios are attracting attention. According to Magic Mirror Insights data, from January to September 2024, on the comprehensive Tmall + Taobao platforms, the categories with the top three growth rates in the baby food segment are special formula milk powder, liquid milk for infants and toddlers, and cow’s milk powder for infants and toddlers, with the highest growth rate reaching 25.1%. Correspondingly, these products indeed meet specific needs such as for babies with allergies, lactose intolerance, or for outdoor activities and long-distance travel.
Take baby diapers for example, “purposeful consumption” is even more pronounced. Diapers’ essential nature, high frequency of use, and censurability mean that young parents typically stock up in a planned way. Additionally, diaper consumers have less loyalty to brands as compared to milk powder, and high price sensitivity. Generally, big promotions like 618 and Double 11 have a significant impact on sales volumes. According to Chanjuan Data, during this year’s 618 promotion, the category of baby and child diapers on the Douyin platform grew by 24.79% compared to last year.
Second, functionality comes first, quality is king! Consumption focus can’t be solely on low prices, big brands, or blindly following trends, but rather it should be more anchored on the long-term value of products.
Certainly, today’s maternity and baby consumers are already “consciously clear-headed shoppers,” and the two core points that drive consumption are: a true need for the product, and that the product is used for a relatively long time and provides good experience. And this also means that the product itself has to meet multiple demands from practical utility to emotional value satisfaction.
According to the “2024 Maternity and Baby Consumption Future Trends Report” released by Digital 100, 30% of mothers clearly state they have a tendency towards being ingredient focused. They give priority to the components, formula, and nutrition of products when purchasing (especially prominent in categories such as milk powder, nutrition products, and complementary foods). At the same time, in the selection of nutrition products, baby and child toiletries, and travel gear, young parents have shifted from looking for “multi-functional products” to preferring “precisely functional targeted products.”
Moreover, especially when it comes to the selection of large travel items, the sense of quality is a key factor influencing consumption decisions. The new generation of maternity and baby users is very willing to pay for high-end brands and high-quality products that focus on functional or value innovation.
In conclusion, economic downturns, weak markets, and consumption downgrading… it’s difficult for any single industry to make a strong reversal, but even so, the maternity and baby industry remains a relatively good sector. Even under the trend of target-driven consumption, any maternity and baby family is still more willing to prioritize spending on their babies.
