research

1. November 2012 - China
© 2012 Mintel Group Ltd. All rights reserved. Confidential to Mintel.
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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What We Think
Marketing to Children
Nearly half of Little Emperors get pocket money from grandparents A day in the life of a Little Emperor
Uptake of paid extra-curricular activities is high
Necessities are prioritised
Commuting to school, classes, extra-curricular activities, and homework take up on average 8 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.
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%). The six pocket phenomenon comes to the fore in this instance, with grandparents highly likely to chip in
(48%), whilst other family members also play their part (20%).
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.
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 in any meaningful social security resulting
in the need to “self-tax” to provide for pensions, healthcare and educations etc.