On July 15th, the National Bureau of Statistics released data showing that the growth rate of some upgraded consumption accelerated in the first half of the year, with retail sales of sports goods increasing by 22.2% year-on-year and retail sales of gold, silver, and jewelry increasing by 11.3% year-on-year. New consumption patterns and formats are constantly emerging, including self pleasure consumption, emotional consumption, and some new personalized and diversified consumption, "said Sheng Laiyun, Deputy Director of the National Bureau of Statistics. The expansion of new tea beverage brands is accelerating, the popularity of trendy toys is increasing, and multiple cities are holding anime season activities... In the first half of the year, the new consumer field continued to heat up, becoming the focus of institutional attention. Multiple institutions believe that there is enormous potential in the fields of trendy toys, pets, new tea drinks, and AI consumption. With continued policy support, multiple new consumer sectors are expected to continue to grow in the second half of the year, and enterprises with channel regulation and product and brand innovation capabilities will emerge. The two key words highlight that "new" Bubble Mart, Laopu Gold and Mixue Group are the hottest "three sisters of new consumption" in Hong Kong stock market this year, and the industries represented by them, such as fun, gold jewelry and new tea, are often included in the category of new consumption. Why is new consumption considered 'new'? According to research reports on new consumer themes from multiple securities firms, technology driven and emotional value are important keywords. On the one hand, technology driven is the key variable that makes new consumption "new". Changjiang Securities Research Report believes that intelligent technology has created more possibilities for personalized supply. Since the beginning of this year, the Beijing Humanoid Robot Half Marathon has been held, and multiple AI eyewear manufacturers have launched new products at technology exhibitions. Yingshi Innovation, which has topped the global panoramic camera market for seven consecutive years, has been successfully launched, demonstrating the trend of technology products gradually entering people's homes from laboratories to exhibitions. The growth in sales of new energy vehicles also reflects the consumption upgrade driven by new technologies and policies to expand domestic demand. On the other hand, new consumption captures consumers' demand for emotional value. Taking the new tea beverage brands that have sparked a wave of listings as an example, since 2025, Guming, Meixue Group, Bawang Tea Lady, and Shanghai Auntie have successively gone public. According to a research report by China International Capital Corporation, the accelerated expansion of new tea beverage brands is due to the brand's response to consumer trends such as cost-effectiveness, quality, and healthiness by launching new products that can meet consumers' multidimensional needs such as thirst quenching, self enjoyment, and social interaction. Although different new consumer industries have different paths of 'sudden rise', overall, the supply of these industries can quickly respond to consumers' needs for differentiation and pursuit of spiritual values. ”Liu Lewen, Chief Analyst of the Social Service Trading Industry at CITIC Securities, stated that segmented markets nurture structural opportunities, and the development focus of emerging consumer industries should shift from channel expansion to product and service upgrades. This is the most important way to open up revenue space. Consumer upgrading provides fertile ground for growth. We are currently in a critical stage of upgrading our consumption structure. ”Sheng Laiyun stated that in the first half of the year, final consumer spending contributed 52% to economic growth. Domestic demand, especially consumption, is the driving force behind GDP growth. Several securities industry insiders believe that the growth potential of new consumption comes from the sustained demand for consumption upgrading in China. At the same time, the transformation of consumer entities has given birth to new consumer demands, providing a driving force for consumer innovation. According to a research report by Huatai Securities, the new consumer group represented by Generation Z and the silver haired generation is driving the iteration of consumer demand towards personalization and quality. Retail analyst Jie Huixin from Minsheng Securities stated that the demand of the silver haired population has driven growth in areas such as healthcare, wellness services, and companion consumption. With the entry of the post-95s into the workplace, their income level and consumption ability have significantly improved, and they pursue personal expression and emotional value, driving consumption innovation. It is worth mentioning that the new consumer sector has received multiple policy supports, which have added fuel and salary increases to its growth. For example, the "Special Action Plan to Boost Consumption" issued in March deployed in multiple fields such as digital consumption, artificial intelligence+consumption, and low altitude consumption to support the accelerated development of new consumption. Jie Huixin believes that as consumers' focus gradually shifts towards spiritual satisfaction and emotional value, enterprises need to transform from efficiency machines to happiness value creators. In this trend, we are optimistic about innovative industries that reconstruct experiences based on emotional values, such as trendy toys and beauty, as well as industries that promote the revitalization and upgrading of traditional categories, such as gold jewelry, snacks and beverages. Many institutions believe that new consumer brands need to establish long-term growth awareness and brand management concepts to achieve growth that transcends cycles. In addition, at the policy level, consideration can be given to continuously reducing the burden and increasing income for residents, expanding the scope of consumer subsidies, and continuously boosting demand. In optimizing the supply side, a research report by China International Capital Corporation (CICC) indicates that new consumer enterprises with long-term growth awareness and a focus on refined management and operation of product lifecycle are expected to achieve sustained growth value. For example, consumer goods with collectible and limited edition attributes are often accompanied by supply and demand mismatches, which can easily lead to second-hand market transactions. Brands should make more reasonable arrangements in the supply chain and delivery rhythm, adopt online and offline prevention and control mechanisms, and deal with second-hand price speculation. On the aspect of boosting demand, Zhao Wei, Chief Economist of Shenwan Hongyuan Securities, believes that continuously reducing the burden and increasing income for residents is the fundamental way to boost marginal consumption tendency. At present, many policies have been introduced, such as lowering the interest rates of existing housing loans, and some cities have introduced rental subsidy policies for new residents and young people. The subsequent moderately loose monetary policy will also help to lower the threshold and interest rate level of consumer credit. Looking ahead, the overall consumption growth rate in the second half of the year will remain basically synchronized with the nominal GDP growth rate. ”Wu Ge, Chief Economist of Changjiang Securities, predicts that new consumption with emotional value is expected to cross the economic cycle. (New Society)