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Marketing to Children
Executive Summary – China – November 2012
Matthew Crabbe
Research Director, Mintel Asia-Pacific
China’s ‘Little Emperors’ are the youth of the
country’s nascent emerging middle class.
Growing up in families with higher-than-
average discretionary incomes, no siblings and
active grandparents, they are the beneficiaries
of rising expenditure on children. However, a
rigid education system and a heavy burden of
expectation means that they are under
pressure to succeed while the absence of
‘second chance parenting’ leads many parents
to seek to protect their child through spending
on items that they believe will safeguard their
future.
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Marketing to Children
Executive Summary – China – November 2012
Decreasing proportion of
Chinese youngsters
Figure 1: Age structure of Chinese population, 2002-
11
Source: National Bureau of Statistics/Mintel
China is still the world’s most populous nation, with
1.3 billion adults or 19% of the world’s population
overall. However, as a consequence of the One-Child
Policy enacted in 1979, the country is starting to see
the results in its rapidly changing demographic profile.
Falling birth rates and improved life expectancy mean
that the population will have an older skew in the near
future, prompting concerns about the reduction in the
nation’s workforce and the ability to support the
growing elderly population.
The National Bureau of Statistics forecasts that the
population of those aged 12-19 will decline by 18.2%
by 2020, compared with 2010. The proportion of
youngsters is set for even further declines by 2050,
which has prompted a partial reversal of the One-
Child Policy in urban areas.
Multi-generational
households
Figure 2: Household composition, by parents’ age, July
2012
Base: 1,500 internet users aged 20-49 who are classified as
middle class with one child aged 0-16
Source: QQSurvey/Mintel
Home ownership is a prerequisite for starting a family,
thus all Chinese middle class families own their home
either outright or on a mortgage. Houses are
uncommon (8%), with over eight in ten families living
in condos or apartments.
The urban middle class tend to dwell in multi-
generational homes. Approximately a quarter of the
middle class Little Emperor households Mintel
surveyed had parents or in-laws also residing with
mother, father and Little Emperor. Younger couples
tend to be more likely to have their parents living
under the same roof, as younger children require
more intensive care/help from grandparents.
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Marketing to Children
Executive Summary – China – November 2012
Uptake of paid extra-
curricular activities is high
Figure 3: Additional paid classes, July 2012
Base: 839 internet users aged 20-49 who are classified as
middle class with one child aged 5-16
Source: QQSurvey/Mintel
High academic expectations result in intense
competition for university places; thus nearly nine in
ten children in Chinese middle class families are
involved in some kind of paid extra-curricular or after-
school activities. Such activities often enhance core
academic credentials and serve as differentiators for
university entry.
Looking beyond the domestic higher education sector,
a third of Chinese urban middle class parents are
willing to finance their child’s postgraduate studies
abroad and a slightly smaller proportion would pay for
their child’s undergraduate degree overseas. Despite
the exorbitant fees and cost of living, American
institutions are favoured by six in ten Chinese parents.
Nearly half of all Little
Emperors get pocket
money from grandparents
Figure 4: Sources of child’s pocket money, July 2012
Base: 839 internet users aged 20-49 who are classified as
middle class with one child aged 5-16
Source: QQSurvey/Mintel
Nearly all Little Emperors receive a monthly
allowance, with older parents and in particular mums
aged 40-49 being the most generous with their
offspring (98%). This is likely owing to the fact that
parents in this age group are considerably wealthier
compared with the younger ones.
The six-pocket phenomenon comes to the fore in this
instance, with grandparents highly likely to chip in
(50%), whilst other family members also play their part
(20%).
Amount of monthly pocket money is positively
correlated with household income. In addition, families
living in Beijing (China’s most affluent city) appear to
be the most generous with their Little Emperors, as
over three in ten (31%) give their children pocket
money in excess of RMB500 a month.
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Marketing to Children
Executive Summary – China – November 2012
Necessities are prioritised
Figure 5: What monthly income is spent on average,
July 2012
Base: 1,500 internet users aged 20-49 who are classified as
middle class with one child aged 0-16
NB: housing includes mortgage, bills, home maintenance,
Food and drink includes all food and drink expenditures in
and out of home, Transport includes car fuel, train fares,
Finance includes monthly saving, insurances, account fees,
Leisure, Entertainment and Technology for your household
includes electronic gadgets, dining out, theatre tickets,
Holidays and travel includes airplane tickets, hotel fees,
Spending on the child includes costs for education, afternoon
classes, treats, clothes
Source: QQSurvey/Mintel
Chinese middle class families invest the largest share
of their monthly disposable income on savings,
investments and financial products (17%), due mainly
to a lack of any meaningful social security resulting in
the need to “self-tax” to provide for pensions,
healthcare and educations etc.
Over a tenth (11%) of monthly incomes is spent on
the needs of children, with younger parents (aged 20-
29), who tend to have lower disposable incomes,
spending proportionately more (15%). In particular, as
the main income providers, males aged 20-29 are
especially likely to contribute nearly a fifth of their
incomes, at 19%.
Children in Tier 1 cities
lead technology ownership
Figure 6: Children’s product ownership, July 2012
Base: 839 internet users aged 20-49 who are classified as
middle class with one child aged 5-16
Source: QQSurvey/Mintel
Over nine in ten Little Emperors have their own
bedrooms, which is fully stocked with toys and
electronics devices. Desktop, laptop and tablet
computers are amongst the most popular devices, as
they can also be used to help with studying. Tablet
(47%) ownership is now higher than laptop ownership
(44%) amongst Chinese middle class children, largely
owing to greater portability and interactivity.
Tier 1 kids have more electronic items than those in
tier 2 for reasons of cost, though TVs are more
common in tier 2 cities and are widely available across
China at relatively low prices. Similarly other novelty
items such as eReaders are more commonly found in
children’s bedrooms in tier 1 cities (53% in Beijing) as
opposed to tier 2 locations (just 33% in Nanjing).
6.
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Marketing to Children
Executive Summary – China – November 2012
A day in the life of a Little
Emperor
Figure 7: A child’s day – average time spent on each
activity, July 2012
Base: 839 internet users aged 20-49 who are classified as
middle class with one child aged 5-16
Source: QQSurvey/Mintel
Commuting to school, classes, extra-curricular
activities and homework take up on average eight
hours each day, meaning that a large chunk of a Little
Emperor’s day is spent on activities related to their
education. This is hardly surprising, considering that
six in ten parents indicate that they want their child to
focus on studying rather than wasting their time on
things like watching TV.
As mothers and fathers are typically the ones most
heavily involved in taking care of their offspring, it
makes sense that parents and family tend to spend
10% of their time with their Little Emperor.
What we think
China’s One-Child Policy was launched in 1979, just
after the population topped one billion, and was aimed
at drastically reducing the rapid population growth. As
a result, more than eight in ten Chinese families in tier
1 and tier 2 cities now have only one child, the so-
called “Little Emperor”. The major social consequence
of the One-Child Policy has been that expectations for
the Little Emperors are now exceptionally high.
As parents don’t get a second chance to conceive as a
result of One-Child Policy, the pressure not to fail in
raising their only-children is intense. This leads to a
heavy investment in babies and young children, in
order to improve their education, career and future
earnings prospects, whilst also catering to their every
need. However, as a result of mollycoddling, only-
children develop expectations of their own, as to what
they should be provided with as they grow up.
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Marketing to Children
Executive Summary – China – November 2012
Matthew Crabbe
Research Director, Mintel Asia-PacificAnalyst
E-mail: info@mintel.com
Telephone +44 (0) 20 7606 4533
Having studied Chinese language, society and history at the
University of Leeds, Matthew Crabbe has since turned an
academic interest in China into a career. As co‐founder of
research company Access Asia, Matthew has worked
exhaustively on trying to make sense of the myriad
contradictions in China's economics and statistics on the
consumer markets there.
Matthew takes a particular interest in the human story
behind the rapid growth in China's economy, and how such
breakneck change is having an effect on its people, their
lifestyles, society and communities. Having travelled to China
regularly since the late 1980s, Matthew has seen this change
first hand, and has attempted to document these changes
within his research work with Access Asia.
As well co‐authoring the 1998 book One Billion Shoppers:
Accessing Asia’s Consuming Passions (Nicholas Brealey
Publishing) with Paul French, Crabbe has written published
reports on Women in China: Women Consumers and Lifestyle
Trends (2007, Access Asia) and Kids in China: Children
Consumers and Lifestyle Trends (2007, Access Asia).
