By Emily Qiu
Welcome to a new kind of marketplace where emotions drive decisions and feelings influence what people buy.
In 2025, young Chinese consumers, especially Gen Z and millennials, are no longer purchasing just for function or fashion. They’re looking for emotional impact. They choose products based on how those items make them feel. For Australian businesses, this shift opens up exciting new opportunities to connect more meaningfully with the local Australian Chinese market.
To understand what matters to this audience, there’s no better place to look than RED. On this platform, millions of users share personal stories, product reviews, and lifestyle tips. These posts often reveal deeper emotional and cultural trends. By observing what performs well on RED, brands can identify opportunities to build deeper connections with this local Chinese audience.
So what’s driving Chinese consumer behaviour in 2025? Below are three emotional trends gaining traction on RED, along with practical ways your brand can respond to them.
1. Value-Driven Spending
Chinese consumers are becoming more practical. They now seek quality and fairness rather than just brand name recognition. Popular phrases on RED, like ‘exceptional value for money’, show that people are actively looking for useful products that feel like a no-brainer.
This change affects both premium and affordable brands. Higher-end products should highlight their quality by reinforcing messages such as, ‘it costs more, but it’s worth it.’ More budget-friendly items can benefit by presenting themselves as ‘hidden gems’ that are reliable and well-made.
Communicating this value clearly and sincerely is essential. Your messaging needs to reflect your audience’s mindset. Campaigns in Chinese that are crafted with cultural awareness and emotional insight will outperform generic or excessively sales-driven content.
To get noticed, consider using influencers and KOCs (Key Opinion Consumers) on RED. Influencers help you reach the right crowd quickly. KOCs, on the other hand, build credibility by offering thoughtful product comparisons and authentic feedback.
2. Emotional Purchases and Self-Care
In a fast-paced world, young Chinese consumers are increasingly viewing shopping as a form of self-care. Products that offer emotional value are more attractive than those that just serve a function.
RED is filled with posts that focus on personal wellbeing, joy, and emotional reward. Stories that talk about doing something kind for oneself often generate high engagement. Phrases like ‘I finally did this for myself’ or ‘this little thing made me happy today’ resonate deeply.
If you want to tap into this trend, tell stories that feel personal and relatable. Present your product as a means to celebrate a life moment, recover from stress, or find a moment of calm. Use peaceful or uplifting visuals and connect with genuine experiences that your Chinese audience can relate to.
The key is to keep your message authentic. Emotional storytelling only works when it feels honest and culturally appropriate.
3. The Appeal of New Chinese Aesthetics
Cultural identity is becoming a strong influence on buying behaviour. Young Chinese consumers are embracing New Chinese Aesthetics, a style that combines traditional symbols with modern design to express pride in their heritage and personal taste.
This trend is growing quickly. Searches on RED for ‘New Chinese style’ and related terms show a rising interest in packaging, branding, and design that feels both nostalgic and fresh. People are drawn to products that reflect cultural roots while also looking stylish and contemporary.
To make an impact, design your product and packaging to align with these preferences if you are planning a campaign around important Chinese festivals, e.g.Chinese New Year, Dragon Boat Festival, or Mid-Autumn Festival. Incorporate traditional Chinese elements such as poetry, calligraphy, or mythological references in a modern, tasteful way.
How Australian Brands Can Respond
Australian brands are well positioned to participate in this movement by merging their strengths in quality, natural ingredients, and clean design with culturally resonant storytelling.
Here are four ways you may start with:
- Create limited-edition product lines for Chinese festivals to build emotional significance and increase demand.
- Develop packaging that features Chinese artistic influences in a modern and minimalist style.
- Choose product names that evoke poetry, tradition, or cultural symbolism.
- Collaborate with traditional Chinese creatives to ensure authenticity and sensitivity in your designs and messages.
By showing that your brand understands and respects Chinese culture, you move from being a foreign brand to a meaningful part of your customers’ daily lives.
For more helpful advice, take a look at our earlier tips on what to avoid in your Chinese marketing campaigns.
Build Emotional Connections That Drive Results
At CHIN, we help brands move beyond one-time sales and create lasting relationships with Chinese-speaking audiences. Our team develops marketing strategies that are emotionally engaging, culturally relevant, and linguistically accurate.
Want to make your 2025 Chinese campaign stand out? Email us at info@chincommunications.com.au or call 1300 792 446 to start building trust, loyalty, and emotional impact with your audience.