In the past few years, the wedding industry has been growing rapidly, although the number of people registering marriages has been declining year by year. Gen Z (born in the late 1990s and early 2000s) has emerged as the industry's growth engine. Different from their parents, the new generation attaches more importance to the sense of ceremony and experience of marriage, from weddings to travel photography, and their needs are more detailed and rich.
In this data observation, we try to read the consumption trends of this industry from the perspectives of the number and distribution of wedding service providers, wedding spending, and destination weddings.
On the drip irrigation index, so far this year,The busiest day for wedding services is December 2, the auspicious day of the wedding。For example, the son of Taiwanese actor and director Zhang Aijia held his wedding on this day. Another busy day is October 1, the first day of the eleventh weekMany people choose to have their wedding during the long holidays.
The wedding industry, also known as the "sweet economy", is gradually showing a seller's market this year, with supply undersupply. On the one hand, the end of the new crown epidemic and the resumption of offline activities have released the demand for some people to hold weddings. On the other hand, the marriage calendar also seems to have brought a lot of influence. According to the Chinese lunar calendar, 2024 is the "Year of the Widow" or "Blind Year", that is, the year when there is no beginning of spring. Many people believe that getting married in a "blind year" may result in a divorce the following year, which may also lead to a bunch of marriages this year. However, historical data shows that even in "blind years", the number of people who registered for marriage did not drop much compared to normal years. Perhaps, it's just a little more low-key.
According to official statistics, the number of annual marriage registrations in China peaked in 2013 and has been declining every year since. At the same time, the divorce rate has been steadily rising. In 2020, after the Civil Code added a 30-day "divorce cooling-off period", the divorce rate began to decline steadily.
However, the number of marriages this year may buck the trend, as the first three quarters are 24 percent higher than the same period last year50,000 newlyweds.
The latest census data showsBetween 2010 and 2020, the average age at first marriage was delayed by 3He was 78 years old, indicating that young people's ideas about marriage are changing. Last year, the proportion of registered marriages between 30 and 34 year olds in China rose to more than 20 percent, while the proportion of marriages between 20 and 24 years old fell to 15 percent.
According to public information such as company registration and trademark registrationAt present, the number of stores providing wedding services has exceeded 1780,000(The total number of stores is for reference only). According to the business registration information checked by Qicha, 80% of wedding businesses were established within the past five years.
Gen Z's spending power is a significant driver of growth in the wedding industry. Young couples prefer customized, personalized, one-on-one wedding services, which creates business opportunities for small wedding studios. According to the "2022 Spring Tide Wedding Festival Wedding Consumption Trend Insights" released by Wedding Chronicle,In 2021, the average wedding cost of Chinese couples reached 250,000 yuan (about 3.).$90,000), an increase of 38 times. By comparison, the average wedding cost in the United States is $30,000
In terms of geographical distribution, wedding services and marriage registration are also significantly related. We ranked the provinces by the number of wedding service outlets. Shandong, Jiangsu, Henan and Guangdong, among the most populous provinces, are also the areas with the highest concentration of wedding services. In addition, these regions tend to be at the top of the rankings for the number of registered marriages and the number of new births each year.
In 2021, Chinese couples spent more than 84 billion yuan on marriage, a year-on-year increase of 20%. The above chart shows the proportion of each link of marriage consumption, where:Nearly half of the cost is spent on wedding hotels.
Meituan user data shows thatThe top three expenses for Chinese couples to get married are wedding banquets, wedding rings, and wedding photography。In addition, the new generation is more likely to buy value-added services such as engagement or proposal planning, and prefer a small, delicate ceremony atmosphere.
In the post-pandemic era, destination weddings are becoming increasingly popular. According to Research and Markets' Global Market Report on Destination Weddings 2023Destination wedding industry revenue reached $28 billion this year, an increase of $7 billion over the same period last year。The report notes that the popularity of destination weddings is influenced by several factors, including the resumption of global travel and the increasing emphasis on experience from customers, which coincides with the preferences of many young newlyweds.
Influenced by global trends, Sanya, a tourist city in Hainan Province, also plans to build the wedding industry into a new economic growth point. In March this year, Sanya** released a 170-page "Special Plan for the Development of Sanya's Wedding Industry (2023-2025)", which aims to build a whole industry chain of wedding services to compete with popular wedding destinations such as the Maldives. According to official data, in 2021, about 4% of China's newlyweds spent on weddings in Sanya, with a total wedding tourism revenue of 12 billion yuan, nearly a quarter of the total tourism revenue. Sanya** expects that by 2025, the revenue related to the wedding industry will reach 18 billion yuan
Data**: Public information such as the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (industrial and commercial information) and the Trademark Office (brand trademark) of the State Intellectual Property Office, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Micro Connect, Meituan, and the Sanya Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports Bureau.