'Smart' young shoppers know when the price is right

With an eye out for discounts and good deals, frugality is the new buzzword for the youth, study reveals.

Young shoppers in China are finding out that you really don't need to blow your money in order to shop till you drop. A yuan saved here, a yuan saved there might just do the trick. You only need to know where to look. So, what's better than scouring supermarkets for discounts or leveraging digital platforms for deals?

In a society that has rapidly transformed from scarcity to abundance, these young consumers are carving out a middle path — one that balances the pleasures of consumption with the security of savings.

The 2024 Interesting Lifestyle Report by China Newsweek further illuminates this trend. It reveals that 46.7 percent of respondents are attracted to significant discounts, indicating a more calculated approach to spending.

For instance, they're now "conquering" supermarkets, particularly the discount sections. This isn't necessarily due to lack of funds, but rather a newfound awareness of price value.

Wu Mei, a 30-year-old living in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, shares her journey of smart shopping. "I started paying attention to supermarket discounts when I was in university. In 2020, I began going to the gym in the evenings, and I'd finish around 9 pm, just in time to stop by the supermarket and check out the discounted goods," says Wu.

She mainly focuses on items for daily needs, such as buy-one-get-one-free fruits, 50-percent-off vegetables, 20-percent-off beef and salmon, and almost expired milk and juice that are also buy-one-get-one-free. She also stops by the bakery near her home, tracking the discount times and offers, choosing discounted products based on her preferred flavors.

The discounts may not be significantly high but for Wu, this habit evolved out of practicality. "Sometimes, the savings are just a few cents, and promotions change frequently. I've learned to recognize the pricing patterns. If you understand the general cost of items, you know when a discount is worth it," says Wu.

The sentiment is echoed by Lu Yu, a 24-year-old corporate clerk from Fuzhou, Fujian province. Lu's initiation into the world of discount shopping was sparked by late-night walks that took her past supermarkets during their markdown hours.

"I remember seeing people swarming around the fresh produce section at a Hema (Freshippo) store, I found it fascinating," she recounts with a chuckle. Since then, she often goes out for walks in the evening, and the supermarkets are part of her route. For Lu, one of the highlights of discount shopping is the thrill of finding good deals on quality items.

"The fun part is realizing that the same product from earlier in the day is now being sold for a fraction of the price. The challenge is making sure you pick out the items that are still in good condition, especially when it comes to fresh food," says Lu.

The rise of this frugal mindset among young Chinese consumers is not just anecdotal, but often rooted in experiences abroad. This trend is exemplified by Liang Jinjin, a 30-year-old baker from Foshan, Guangdong province, whose three-year stay in Australia while pursuing her master's degree from 2018 to 2021 significantly shaped her approach to saving money.

"The habit of paying attention to supermarket discounts comes from when I lived in Australia. Every week, there would be regular supermarket promotions, which cut my monthly expenses into half," says Liang.

Upon returning to China, she found that while the shopping landscape had changed, her frugal mindset persisted.

"Ten years ago, we relied on newspaper discounts and big flyers at supermarkets. Now, with e-commerce so developed, most people don't pay much attention to discounts anymore. Whatever you want to eat can easily be ordered online," says Liang.

Despite the convenience of online shopping, Liang and many of her peers continue to seek out in-person bargains, especially in large cities.

Liang points out that most discounted products in supermarkets tend to follow a regular pattern of half-price or even greater discounts, especially at fixed times. There are also regular discounts on fresh food.

"After work, more people are heading to supermarket discount areas or opting for fast food to meet their dinner needs, and this fixed time slot is almost always filled with young people," says Liang.

She gradually discovered that, aside from designated discount days, Mondays are particularly good for bargain hunting because many people choose to shop for a week's worth of groceries over the weekend. This means that on Mondays, shoppers can pick up some items that didn't sell over the weekend, often at relatively large discounts.

This meticulous approach to shopping extends beyond just supermarket runs, as Wu has her strategies for maximizing savings across various online platforms.

"It's about being resourceful. For example, I use platforms like Meituan and Alipay to take advantage of coupons, and sometimes I'll get great deals, like a 0.1-yuan pack of tissues with a 2-yuan coupon," says Wu.