2. 2
Post-90s generation: Mainstream
consumers of the future
blindly following others' advice, they tend to have
strong opinions on many issues and prefer to form
their own opinions through experience and by gathe-
ring more information. When making purchasing deci-
sions, the main trends exhibited by post-90s consu-
mers are strong individual preferences and
independence.
A generation born with the Internet
The rise and spread of the Internet has made lives of
post-90s consumers closely integrated with the virtual
world online. They tend to be active online every day
via mobile phones, computers or tablet devices. They
use the Internet to learn, share and interact, and they
are comfortable searching online for answers to ques-
tions. Meanwhile, the rapid development of e-com-
merce has also popularized online shopping for the
post-90s generation. Roland Berger estimates that
post-90s consumers make up 30% of China's online
shoppers and account for 24% of online purchases.
China's post-90s population is 188 million strong, ac-
cording to the results of the sixth national population
census released by the National Bureau of Statistics in
2010. As this post-90s consumer group comes of age
and gradually begins to achieve financial independence,
their growing consumption capacity and demand positi-
on them to become the mainstream consumers of the
future, and this new consumption structure will inevitab-
ly lead to inevitable and dramatic changes. Studying the
characteristics of this rising generation of consumers
will be crucial to company's development strategies in
the future.
As a generational demographic, the characteristics
that define post-90s consumers are largely derived
from the times and the particular external environment
in which they grew up.
Rich variety of products to choose from
The post-90s generation came of age at a time of rapid
economic growth. Major improvements to domestic
productivity and the influx of overseas commodities
created a rich and varied material world for them to
explore. This unprecedented variety of choices immer-
sed post-90s consumers in a sea of brand information
and rich shopping experiences. As such, this new ge-
neration is highly receptive to new products and
brands and has developed the ability to make shop-
ping decisions independently.
Independent thinkers
Post-90s consumers are characterized by a strong
sense of individuality and independence. Instead of
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Insights into post-90s generation consumer characteristics in tier-1 cities
3. The post-90s generation: A unique
consumer group
and are not strongly affected by traditional sales tactics.
Meanwhile, they are comfortable acquiring information
and making both online and offline.
1. The post-90s generation: Clear and practi-
cal consumers
Post-90s consumers have clear preferences for all kinds
of consumer goods and seek out intrinsic value.
Beverages.
When purchasing beverages, post-90s consumers are
increasingly concerned with health considerations and
try to avoid products that contain large amounts of ad-
ditives. They also have highly developed personal tastes
and try to find their preferred taste among the available
brands. At certain price points, post-90s consumers de-
monstrate the willingness to accept mid-range and low-
end drinks. They usually forego expensive beverages
when there are lower-priced choices that offer a similar
standard of quality.
Clothing.
Male post-90s consumers tend to purchase two types
of clothing: athletic and casual. Their shopping habits
demonstrate preferences for quality when buying
sportswear and preferences for style when buying ca-
sual clothing. Female post-90s consumers mainly
purchase casual clothing and have different preferences
for clothes at different price levels: they tend to pay
more attention to style, material and cost-effectiveness
for high-priced clothing and value product selection for
lower-priced clothing, which is largely due to the shorter
Roland Berger has conducted extensive interviews of
post-90s consumers and gained a deep understanding
of their consumption characteristics in tier-1 cities, in-
cluding brand choices and shopping preferences, espe-
cially in the five categories of beverages, clothing, ath-
letic shoes, cosmetics & skin care products and mobile
phones.
Through interviews and research, we have identified the
following characteristics of post-90s consumers in tier-1
cities:
Clear preferences and practicality:
Post-90s consumers in tier-1 cities demonstrate clearly
defined and practical preferences when buying consu-
mer goods. They are motivated by real needs, pay atten-
tion to the intrinsic value of consumer goods and tend to
be purpose-driven shoppers.
Brand loyalty and trust in big brands:
Post-90s consumers in tier-1 cities exhibit a high degree
of brand loyalty that spans all categories of consumer
products. They tend to stick to brands which previously
delivered good experiences instead of frequently trying
out new brands. Overall, they trust big brands more and
recognize well-known brand names guarantees of supe-
rior quality.
The importance of personal experiences and channel
diversity:
Post-90s consumers in tier-1 cities value individual ex-
periences delivered throughout the purchasing process
A
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Insights into post-90s generation consumer characteristics in tier-1 cities
3
4. 4
< Gender: Male < Year of birth: 1991
< Status: Works in a foreign-owned finacial company
< Lives in: Shanghai < Born in: Shanghai
< Education: Bachelor's degree from a "985" university
< Gender: Female < Year of birth: 1994
< Status: Graduate student < Lives in: Shanghai
< Born in: Ningbo, Zhejiang Province
< Education: Bachelor's degree and master's degree from
a "211" university
Characteristics of post-90s consumers in tier-1 citiesA
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Insights into post-90s generation consumer characteristics in tier-1 cities
5. 5
replacement interval of lower-priced clothing.
Athletic shoes.
Style, comfort and wide selection are the three most
important factors post-90s consumers consider when
purchasing athletic shoes. Men pay more attention to
quality while women focus more on style. Trendiness is
another important influencer for female consumers: the
trendiness of New Balance sneakers is a strong driver of
purchasing decisions.
Cosmetics & skin care products.
Quality is the most important factor for female post-
90s consumers when they purchase cosmetics and
skin care products. In addition, the cosmetics must be
match the consumer's individual skin type and perso-
nal style. Interviews with consumers show that they
generally choose higher-end products as their incomes
increase.
Post-90s generation: Brand loyalty and trust in big brands
Brand loyalty
Wider selection of brands
B
Mobile phones.
Post-90s consumers' attitudes toward mobile phone
brands are unique, as the vast majority of interviewees
(85%) choose iPhone. According to interviewees' as-
sessments, iPhone surpasses other brands in terms of
operating system, design, quality and many other as-
pects, of which the operating system is the most im-
portant for post-90s consumers. Between iOS and
Android, the two most common systems in the current
mobile phone market, almost all interviewees expres-
sed belief that iOS features faster responses, cleaner
system settings more supported apps. In terms of qua-
lity, consumers find iPhone's hardware to be good qua-
lity and comfortable to use. Lastly, due to its great
performance and relatively long replacement interval,
interviewees considered iPhone a highly cost-effective
product despite its high price.
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6. 6
2. Post-90s generation: Brand loyalty and
trust in big brands
In fact, post-90s consumers do not try out new brands
or switch brands as frequently as other reports have
claimed; instead, interviewees exhibit strong brand lo-
yalty in the product categories of beverages, athletic
shoes, cosmetics & skin care products and mobile
phones. Interviewees generally said that they would
continue buying brands they previously purchased if
their experiences were positive. Most consumers view
a brand name as a guarantee of quality as well as a
shortcut to reduce time and effort doing research.
Post-90s consumers also tend to place more trust in
big brands, which are seen as guarantees of better
overall quality across all consumer goods categories.
Most of the brands chosen by interviewees are big
brands with high public awareness. According to
consumer assessments, big brands with diverse pro-
duct choices are better able to meet their needs than
niche brands. B
Beverages.
The beverage choices listed by post-90s consumers
are quite narrow compared to the overall beverage
market. Brands such as Nongfu Spring, Ganten Baisu-
ishan Water and Bright Dairy were mentioned repea-
tedly in interviews.
Post-90s consumers' brand loyalty tends to be stron-
ger than that of other demographics. Most intervie-
wees described sampling a few brands initially until
they found a favorite brand, which they stuck to after-
ward. The degree of brand loyalty, however, varies
across different beverage types: post-90s consumers
show a high degree of brand loyalty toward products
that are closely related to health and that require good
quality such as milk and yogurt, while they are less
brand-loyal when selecting products such as mineral
water, in which case they are more easily affected by
attractive packaging and convenience.
In cases where consumers do not have a predeter-
mined preference between similar-tasting beverages,
products with novel packaging are more attractive. In
addition, consumers interested in higher-priced pro-
ducts will often first give them a try when they are on
sale.
Clothing.
Male post-90s consumers generally make purchasing
decisions about clothing based on real needs, so
purchases often depend on the season more that the
brand name. According to interviews, male post-90s
consumers stick to a favorite brand when buying ath-
letic clothing, but are open to a more diverse range of
brands when shopping for casual clothing. Intervie-
wees' brand choices for casual clothing were highly
scattered and diverse. They mainly selected products
according to their own needs at the time of purchase,
and brand loyalty was limited to only vague brand as-
sociations.
Female post-90s consumers tend to have a few prefer-
red brands in mind when they shop for clothes, but
they do not stick to those brands exclusively; instead,
they base choices on their own stylistic preferences,
which leaves them open to a wide range of possible
brands. In some cases, brand loyalty could be better
defined as loyalty to a brand group rather than a single
brand: for example, when seeking fast fashion choices,
many female interviewees mentioned ZARA, H&M and
MANGO together.
Athletic shoes.
The preferences of post-90s consumers for athletic
shoes are concentrated on a few brands. Nike and
New Balance were consistently mentioned throughout
interviews, while other brands had less widespread ap-
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Insights into post-90s generation consumer characteristics in tier-1 cities
7. peal. According to interviewees, athletic shoes are ge-
nerally unsuitable for the office and are only worn for
athletic activities or occasionally to match women's
casual outfits. As more post-90s consumers join the
workforce, their demand for athletic shoes and purcha-
sing frequency have declined significantly; as such,
their needs can be fully met by just one to three ath-
letic shoe brands. Therefore, they tend to stick to
brands they have bought previously or those which
have high public awareness and inspire their trust.
Men and women display different purchasing behavi-
ors in terms of loyalty to athletic shoe brands: men are
extremely loyal to athletic shoe brands and will stick to
a brand exclusively based on former experience, pay-
ing no attention to other brands; women, however, pay
far more attention to style and will compare several
brands when making a decision, rather than sticking to
a single brand.
Cosmetics & skin care products.
In the highly segmented cosmetics and skin care mar-
ket, female post-90s consumers look to different
brands to meet their needs in different market seg-
ments, so individual consumers generally consider a
wide range of brands. Although consumers are often
willing to try out new products recommended to them,
the high cost of cosmetics and skin care products re-
sults in loyalty to brands which have delivered satis-
factory results in the past. In addition, interviewees
tend to believe that the quality of high-priced products
from big brands will be better. Consumers steer clear
of individual products targeted by negative news or re-
views, but this does not usually affect their opinion
about the brand's other product offerings.
Mobile phones.
Of all the categories covered in this survey, mobile
phone brands command the highest degree of loyalty
from post-90s consumers. This loyalty is partly due to
perceptions of iPhone's superiority across the board
and partly to mobile phones' relatively long replace-
ment interval and consumers' high reliance on them in
Post-90s generation: The importance of personal experience and channel diversity
Consumption drivers Information verification Purchasing
Stores
Internet
Friends' recommendations
Stores
Stores
Stores
Stores
Stores
Friends' recommendations
Internet
Internet
Internet
Internet
Internet
Internet
C
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Insights into post-90s generation consumer characteristics in tier-1 cities
7
8. 8
daily life. As a result of these factors, consumers tend
to choose smartphones that offer better quality. Over
time, post-90s consumers have become accustomed
to the easy operation and sleek design of the iOS sys-
tem, which also contributes to Apple's brand sticki-
ness. As the number of iPhone users grows, consu-
mers increasingly choose iPhone to avoid any
inconvenience from using apps unable to interact with
the people around them.
3. Post-90s generation: The importance of
personal experience and channel diversity
Post-90s consumers are generally characterized by
reasonable decision-making processes when purcha-
sing consumer goods, and they mainly buy things ac-
cording to real needs. Experience is the most import-
ant factor in triggering consumers' demand and
informing their habits at the information verification
stage. They tend to go directly to stores to select pro-
ducts or follow recommendations, either from celebri-
ties online or from their friends, and then verify the in-
formation through personal experiences. Traditional
advertising generally has little effect on their behavior
as consumers, although advertising that enhances the
stylish appeal of electronics such as mobile phones
can have an influence on them. They barely pay atten-
tion to other advertisements, however, so in-store pro-
duct displays usually have a larger impact on them
than traditional advertising.
The Internet plays a very important role at all three sta-
ges of the purchasing process for post-90s consu-
mers. They often collect and verify information online
and even make purchases online, which both enriches
and extends traditional offline purchasing behavior.
For post-90s consumers, the consumption stimulus
and information verification stages tend to be consoli-
dated into a single information collection process,
which streamlines the overall purchasing process. C
Consumers primarily obtain information on beverages,
clothing and athletic shoes through offline channels,
but they purchase the products both online and off-
line. D
Beverages.
Post-90s consumers usually go directly to stores to
buy drinks, so their selection is based on in-store pro-
duct availability. Information collection and purchasing
are completed simultaneously in offline stores.
Clothing.
The majority of male post-90s consumers obtain pro-
duct information such as quality, style and pricing di-
rectly from stores when they go shopping, and then
make their final purchasing decisions based on the
experience of trying the clothing on. They rarely buy
clothes online due to the need to try items on first.
One common purchasing pattern for female post-90s
consumers is to first select items in an offline store
and then buy them online, either directly or through a
procurement service; another approach is to both
select and purchase directly in an online store. Online
shopping accounts for a majority clothing purchases
for female post-90s consumers: around 70% of female
interviewees bought more than half of their clothes on-
line. When purchasing clothing online, these consu-
mers tend to choose stores based on recommenda-
tions from celebrities or friends and do not pay much
attention to brand names.
Athletic shoes.
Most post-90s consumers choose, try and buy athletic
shoes in offline stores. Some interviewees mentioned
that they prefer to try shoes on in offline stores and
then buy through procurement services online. Consi-
dering the inconvenience of trying shoes on and the
prevalence of counterfeit goods online, other intervie-
wees said they rarely buy athletic shoes online.
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9. 9
Consumers primarily obtain information on beverages, clothing and athletic shoes through offline
channels, but they purchase the products both online and offline.
Information collection Purchasing
Online
Offline
The integration of online and offline information collection is a prominent feature in purchasing
cosmetics & skin care products and mobile phones.
Information collection Purchasing
Online
Offline
Celebrities online, Baidu Tieba Online stores Procurement services
Celebrities online, Baidu Tieba Online stores Procurement services
Friends' recommendations Stores Stores
Friends' recommendations Stores Stores
D
E
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10. 10
The integration of online and offline information collec-
tion is a prominent feature in purchasing cosmetics &
skin care products and mobile phones. E
Cosmetics & skin care products.
Due to the wide variety of cosmetics & skin care pro-
ducts and brands, as well as the long period of evalua-
tion necessary to judge effectiveness, female post-
90s consumers generally do at least some research
into reviews and pricing, which often includes reading
online recommendations from celebrities who share
their particular skin type or following friends' advice,
and then finally making the decision based on perso-
nal trials. After choosing a product, many consumers
make the purchase through online procurement ser-
vices, but others worry about the authenticity of goods
online, especially for skin care products with high-fre-
quency use, and they are therefore willing to buy in
offline stores.
Mobile phones.
With its high degree of market penetration, strong re-
putation and advertising presence among consumers
and overwhelming media coverage, iPhone has inund-
ated post-90s consumers with product information
and facilitated purchasing through a variety of chan-
nels. For mobile phone brands other than iPhone,
consumers generally obtain product information from
the Internet or friend recommendations, and finally
make purchases online or at offline stores, much as
they do for cosmetics and skin care products. Some
consumers make both their final selections and pay for
their new mobile phones directly in store.
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11. Brands: Capturing the post-
90s market where
challenges co-exist with
opportunities
As the post-90s generation can be characterized by
rationality and relatively strong brand loyalty when
buying consumer goods, securing a share of this de-
mographic can be highly valuable to brands. Mean-
while, intense competition in the consumer goods
market means that only the best-performing brands
can win over post-90s consumers.
Beverages.
Product: Roland Berger advises beverage compa-
nies to explore post-90s consumers' taste prefer-
ences by studying product sales data, conducting
market research and actively co-operating with re-
tailers. Companies should also differentiate be-
tween the taste preferences of male and female
consumers in products research and development.
Companies should also adapt to major trends in
post-90s consumer preferences by developing
healthy products, ensuring quality and paying atten-
tion to packaging design.
Pricing: Due to the intense competition in the bever-
age market, companies can offer reasonable prices
to make products more cost-effective, which will
help stimulate consumption among the post-90s
generation. Companies that sell high-priced prod-
ucts can offer occasional price cuts to encourage
interested post-90s consumers to give the new bev-
erages a try. Post-90s consumers can be expected
to buy upgraded products as their spending power
increases.
Channels: Beverage companies should focus on es-
tablishing a variety of sales channels and strength-
ening co-operation with distributors. They need to
ensure that consumers can obtain product informa-
tion and purchase products in offline stores easily.
Case study: Ganten Baisuishan Water
Healthy, cost-efficient mineral water.
Post-90s consumers tend to take their own health
very seriously, so many of them choose fresh juice
without any additives or mineral water when partici-
pating in outdoor activities. Quality is a critical factor
in selecting a mineral water brand for the health-con-
scious, and Baisuishan fits the bill. Baisuishan water
comes from a high-quality water source that is
known for being natural, pure, rich in trace elements
and unpolluted; furthermore, the brand is known for
its advanced production equipment and rich experi-
ence in mining, which is thought to guarantee the
quality of its mineral water. Despite its reputation for
high quality, Baisuishan is generally priced lower
than other high-end water brands on the market
such as Kunlun Mountains Natural Mineral Water, Ai-
kua and Evergrande Spring, which makes Baisuishan
more cost-effective and attractive to rational post-
90s consumers.
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Insights into post-90s generation consumer characteristics in tier-1 cities
12. 12
Modern packaging design.
In the mineral water segment, where brand loyalty is
relatively low, many interviewees said that packag-
ing design is an important factor that can motivate
them to buy a product. Baisuishan's packaging is
different from traditional designs: it features a flat
shoulder below the bottle neck and beautiful arcs
that conjure the image of
flowing springs,giving the
bottle a modern and
stylish image that aligns
with post-90s consum-
ers' pursuit of fashion.
Co-operation with distributors to reach end-mar-
kets.
Baisuishan has put significant effort into maintain-
ing distributor relationships and staying in close
communication with them. With the support of dis-
tributors, the brand has developed a solid founda-
tion in distribution channels. Active distribution and
the application of various promotional tools enable
Baisuishan to reach more consumers, win attention
in offline stores and inspire post-90s consumers to
buy its products.
Clothing.
Positioning: Post-90s consumers have relatively
weak loyalty to clothing brands, so companies need
to carefully position their individual brands within
brand groups and competitive market sectors. They
should focus on product advantages within the rele-
vant segment to build up consumer preference.
High-priced clothing brands can also attract post-
90s consumers with targeted product designs and
marketing.
Product: Clothing companies need to design products
based on a careful study of consumer preferences,
similar to beverage companies. They should under-
stand which design trends are preferred by post-90s
consumers overall and which factors (quality, style and
price) are most important for different clothing catego-
ries (basic, fast fashion, high end). Companies must
also choose the appropriate times to launch new prod-
ucts in order to take advantage of seasonal needs.
Marketing: Based on post-90s consumers' tendency to
focus on personal experiences, clothing companies
should fully optimize in-store clothing displays as tools
for direct marketing. Online marketing, especially
co-operation with online celebrities, is another area
that can help companies reach female post-90s con-
sumers.
Case study: Uniqlo
Positioned as an inexpensive clothing brand.
Uniqlo is clearly positioned as an inexpensive,
fast-fashion clothing brand. Despite being rated as the
No. 4 fast-fashion brand in the world, it is more fo-
cused on cost-efficiency than style, and has built up a
reputation for simple, good-value designs. This combi-
nation of product characteristics and brand position-
ing has been a hit with post-90s consumers, a senti-
ment echoed by interviewees, who are attracted to
Uniqlo's low prices and high quality, and care a bit less
about Uniqlo's clothing styles.
Total channel control benefits brand management.
Uniqlo implements an SPA (Specialty Retailer of Pri-
vate Label Apparel) model to ensure 100% control of
all processes, including product planning, fabric de-
sign, production and processing, logistics and sales.
The SPA model helps Uniqlo cut out unnecessary inter-
mediaries, such as agents and brokers, and connect
with customers directly. Uniqlo's stores are successful
at identifying consumer needs and fashion trends,
which provide market information used to improve the
brand's product planning, development and produc-
tion. Uniqlo also applies its SPA model to online chan-
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13. 13
nel management, ensuring the same styles, prices and
promotions are available across online and offline
channels to avoid confusion in supply chain manage-
ment and prevent conflicts of interest between online
and offline channels, thereby establishing and main-
taining a strong, unified brand image.
Young, fashionable designs and marketing.
Uniqlo increasingly focuses on delivering fashionable
and youth-oriented product designs. Co-operation
with Nigo, a renowned
name in the fashion world,
has infused Uniqlo's UT line
with cutting-edge looks.
Frequent crossover co-op
erations to launch new
products reflect Uniqlo's
efforts to offer more "
youthful," fashionable
clothing that appeals to post-90s consumers. Uniqlo
also makes use of celebrity spokespersons and en-
dorsements to attract younger consumers: for exam-
ple, the brand brought on two creative directors from
W+K in 2014. These actions demonstrate Uniqlo's in-
creased focus on fashion trends to attract young con-
sumers with advertising and marketing campaigns.
Innovative in-store displays.
In-store clothing displays can exert a major influence
on post-90s consumers and even trigger them to make
purchases on the spot. Uniqlo stores use a highly or-
ganized, warehouse-like style of display, using entire
walls as shelves and display areas, which delivers a
fresh and appealing aesthetic to customers. In addi-
tion, Uniqlo dresses its mannequins in a diverse range
of outfits, which visually communicates the possibili-
ties for mixing and matching different types of clothing
and fully demonstrates the brand's "Made for All" con-
cept.
Athletic shoes.
Product: Focusing on product development can help
invigorate all aspects of athletic shoe companies and
communicate their strengths to consumers. For exam-
ple, brands can develop a wider range of style choices,
such as those which are suitable for women's outdoor
activities, or concentrate on improving the perfor-
mance of men's athletic shoes.
Marketing: Athletic shoe companies can bolster expe-
riential marketing for high-performance products. To
highlight new styles and designs, especially female
products, brands can learn from clothing companies
and collaborate with online celebrities to boost popu-
larity.
Case study: Nike
Continuously expanding product selection with new
designs.
NIKE, Inc. upholds a longstanding commitment to
deeply understanding consumer needs and lifestyles,
and meeting those needs with a diverse and fashion-
able range of models and product designs. Nike fre-
quently collaborates with fashion designers on a brand
level to achieve the optimal balance between function-
ality and fashion. This balance is an ideal fit for young
post-90s consumers, who tend to seek comfortable
footwear that delivers high-performance functionality
and looks stylish.
Experiential marketing.
By hosting sporting events such as "Run and You'll Un-
derstand," "Nike Women's Race Series," "Nike N+TC
TOUR and Women's Fitness Festival," Nike targets
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14. 14
No advertising, just WOM marketing
Kiehl's follows a principle of no advertising; instead,
the brand relies on word of mouth and encourages its
customers to directly experience its product advantag-
es for themselves. Kiehl's works to build a strong repu-
tation in the market with its improved membership
system, direct consumer interactions via Weibo and
precise brand communications. Kiehl's does not hire
any celebrities to endorse its products, but does col-
laborate with celebrities in China for limited edition
products and charitable causes. For example, Kiehl's
has co-operated with Shawn Yue, Mark Chao, So-
dagreen and Leo Ku for four years since 2012, sup-
porting the limited edition Rare Earth Deep Pore
Cleansing Masque with Amazonian White Clay. These
partners share skin care secrets with consumers and
also call on young people to join Kiehl's team in the
Giant Panda Habitat Protection.
"Try before you buy" to promote brand experiences
"Try before you buy" is a major feature of Kiehl's mar-
keting strategy. Kiehl's rarely ever offers sales or dis-
counts, but it often gives away trial packs, for example,
to newly registered members, online users who partic-
ipate in interactive activities or consumers who make
purchases through links provided in company emails.
For female post-90s consumers, trial packs deliver
quality product experiences and remove the cost of
trying out a new brand.
young consumers with sports information and ideas to
incorporate sports into modern lifestyles. These cam-
paigns and events allow post-90s consumers, who
highly value emotional connection and experiences, to
fully immerse themselves in sports and fall in love with
Nike equipment through those experiences.
Cosmetics & skin care products.
Product: The most important deliverable for cosmetics
& skin care companies is ensuring product quality,
which means it is critical to keep any negative news
reports or information from tarnishing the brand image
for post-90s consumers. High-end brands can also
build up a high-quality brand image among post-90s
consumers with long-term marketing campaigns, and
then wait for these consumer groups to build up the
purchasing power to become customers later.
Marketing: Companies must focus on online marketing
to gain better access to post-90s consumers; for ex-
ample, they can initiate collaborations with online ce-
lebrities to enhance their online media presence.
Case study: Kiehl's
Natural ingredients and trusted quality
Kiehl's has used natural plant extracts in its pharma-
ceutical products since its inception as a pharmacy.
The company combines high-tech processes with nat-
ural skin care ingredients from nature to develop gen-
tle and effective formulas for different skin conditions.
Kiehl's products maintain the original smells and col-
ors of the raw materials and avoid adding non-active or
unnecessary components, which helps the skin ab-
sorb the treatments easily. The resulting natural and
efficient formulas have won Kiehl's numerous loyal
fans of all ages.
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15. 15
Mobile phones.
iPhone's extreme popularity among post-90s consum-
ers in tier-1 cities makes mobile phones a somewhat
extreme case to examine. The main reason for iPhone's
popularity is that its features match up with key char-
acteristics of post-90s consumers.
Firstly, post-90s consumers' mobile phone preferenc-
es are based in practicality: they primarily want a
cost-effective phone with a comfortable design and a
quick-responding system that supports a diverse
range of apps. Such consumers believe that iPhone is
ahead other brands in terms of system performance,
design and quality, which adds up to a clear competi-
tive advantage. Meanwhile, post-90s consumers'
heavy reliance on mobile phones and high frequency
of use incentivize them to buy high-quality products
that will last a long time. Therefore, even though iP-
hone's pricing is higher than other phones, it is still
within an acceptable range for post-90s consumers,
especially considering the long period of use they can
get from it.
Secondly, post-90s consumers' relatively strong brand
loyalty means that they are not easily influenced to
change brands after having good first experiences us-
ing iPhone. Also, the Apple Store's simple and profes-
sional design, high-quality consultations with sales
staffs and complete after-sales system all serve to in-
crease post-90s consumers' trust in the Apple brand.
Lastly, the Apple Store provides good product-trial ex-
periences to post-90s consumers, allowing shoppers
to try a full range of Apple products, thereby delivering
high-quality user experiences. Product introductions
and recommendations from Apple's knowledgeable
sales staff provide another way for consumers to learn
about and experience the iPhone. These experiences
are complemented by a diverse variety of shopping op-
tions, both online and offline, to facilitate the purchase
process for post-90s consumers.
Roland Berger Strategy Consultants
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Insights into post-90s generation consumer characteristics in tier-1 cities
iPhone'sstrongfootholdwithpost-90sconsumersintier-1
cities makes it difficult for other mobile phone brands to
surpass it in the short term, even ones that imitate the iP-
hone's features or offer much lower pricing. Winning or
maintaining a share of this market will remain difficult for
other brands if they cannot find a way to align with the
preferences of post-90s consumers.
16. 16
Summary: How to win over
the post-90s market
Based on this assessment of the post-90s genera-
tion's consumption habits and preferences, Roland
Berger believes consumer goods companies need to
transform and upgrade their product, production,
marketing and channel strategies in order to win a
share of this important demographic.
Companies should strive to implement product
strategies carefully designed to meet consumer
preferences, fully optimizing existing brand
strengths to satisfy post-90s consumers' demands
for different product categories. Post-90s consum-
ers exhibit independent decision-making traits when
making product selections and do not follow others
blindly. They also tend not to seek out niche brands;
instead, they prefer products from big, brands with
strong reputations that match their personalities and
meet their practical needs. Therefore, established
brands should first optimize their existing brand advan-
tages, brand awareness and trust they have built up in
the past. Companies must be committed to product
innovation and offer post-90s consumers a wide selec-
tion of products. The appeal of these products can
come from the flavor, packaging, design, functionality
or other aspects. Well-established companies can also
launch product lines specifically targeted at post-90s
consumers. These lines should include product fea-
tures that match the preferences of post-90s consum-
ers, such as nutritional benefits and fresh packaging
design for foods and beverages, or youthful and fash-
ionable appeal for clothing, bags and shoes. Cost-ef-
fectiveness is also very important, since post-90s con-
sumers have generally just launched their careers or
are still in school. Their relatively weak purchasing
power and high standards for quality of life, which
have been nurtured since childhood, make them
keenly conscious of the value of products they pur-
chase.
In terms of production strategy, companies are sug-
gested to pay attention to "Industry 4.0" produc-
tion trends and adjust manufacturing processes to
meet market demands for customization. Post-90s
consumers generally seek out products with high in-
trinsic value and that meet their own personal needs,
making it difficult for a single popular product to
achieve universal market acceptance. Therefore,
product customization is not only an important trend
in the post-90s market, it is expected to become a
defining trend in the future. This represents a serious
challenge to companies' current manufacturing pro-
cesses, which will require upgraded technology to
complete the transformation from high-volume pro-
duction to a diversified and highly customized produc-
tion model. "Industry 4.0" charts a new course for
companies seeking to develop customized manufac-
turing: companies can increase efficiency and market
reactivity by implementing smart, digitized manufac-
turing processes that realize horizontal integration
and also connect physical equipment and information
from all along the value chain. Implementing an "In-
dustry 4.0" approach to production will make pro-
cesses much more flexible and enable the production
of customized products and services on a large scale,
thereby helping companies achieve a qualitative leap
in all segments of the supply chain and enhanced
Roland Berger Strategy Consultants
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Insights into post-90s generation consumer characteristics in tier-1 cities
17. 17 Roland Berger Strategy Consultants
fect online/offline integration and necessitates unified
pricing across channels, which has proven difficult for
many brands. Some leading brands have successfully
integrated offline channels to ensure strong control
over pricing and promotions, and then operated direct
online channels via websites such as TMall, ensuring
unified pricing for all products. Other companies have
gone a step further by offering certain products exclu-
sively through online channels to avoid pricing discrep-
ancies. Regardless of how it is achieved, integration of
online and offline channels is needed to adapt to post-
90s consumers' purchasing and decision-making hab-
its, as well as to avoid turning away potential custom-
ers because the products they want are unavailable.
market competitiveness.
Roland Berger recommends a two-pronged market-
ing strategy that both meets rational needs and also
resonates emotionally with post-90s consumers.
Companies should make sure to incorporate new
media and interpersonal communication into these
marketing strategies. On one hand, brands should
highlight or foster a youthful, dynamic and unique per-
sonality that resonates with post-90s consumers; on
the other hand, however, they should also connect with
post-90s consumers' on a rational level to convey
products' functional advantages and features. To build
on post-90s consumers' frequent use of new media,
brands should incorporate new media approaches into
marketing and communications campaigns whenever
possible. In addition to official accounts on Weibo,
WeChat and other new media platforms, brands can
also tap online celebrities, famous KOLs and well-
known public account on Weibo to amplify their mes-
sages. These efforts are ideally complemented by par-
ticipation in online forums like Baidu Tieba, where
brands can engage post-90s consumers in discus-
sions, thereby closing the emotional gap with young
consumers and communicating in a more flexible for-
mat. Beyond these activities, brands should strive to
foster positive peer-to-peer interactions within post-
90s groups, especially because individual post-90s
consumers tend to be highly interconnected and can
therefore exert stronger influence on each other than
consumers from the post-70s and post-80s genera-
tions. Brands should aim to fully leverage such influ-
ence when conducting marketing activities and pro-
moting their reputations.
When developing channel strategy, companies
should strive to integrate online and offline chan-
nels, and concert efforts across all channels to
achieve the same goals. Post-90s consumers are fa-
miliar with online purchasing channels, but still value
experiences offline. This ability to move back and forth
between channels requires that brands achieve per-
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Insights into post-90s generation consumer characteristics in tier-1 cities
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Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, 1967 gegründet, ist die einzige der weltweit führenden Unternehmens-
beratungen mit europäischer Herkunft und deutschen Wurzeln. Mit rund 2.400 Mitarbeitern in 36 Ländern ist
das Unternehmen in allen global wichtigen Märkten erfolgreich aktiv. Die 50 Büros von Roland Berger befinden
sich an zentralen Wirtschaftsstandorten weltweit. Das Beratungsunternehmen ist eine unabhängige Partner-
schaft im ausschließlichen Eigentum von rund 220 Partnern. www.rolandberger.com
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About us
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Insights into post-90s generation consumer characteristics in tier-1 cities
www.think-act.com
Roland Berger Strategy Consultants
Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, founded in 1967, is the only leading global consultancy with Ger-
man heritage and of European origin. With 2,400 employees working in 36 countries, we have suc-
cessful operations in all major international markets. Our 50 offices are located in the key global
business hubs. Roland Berger advises major international industry and service companies as well as
public institutions. Our services cover the entire range of management consulting from strategic advice
to successful implementation: e.g. new leadership and business models; innovative processes and
services; MA, private equity and restructuring; and management support on large infrastructure proj-
ects.
Our firm is owned solely by a group of 220 Partners. We share the conviction that the firm's indepen-
dence provides the basis for unbiased advice to our clients. At Roland Berger, we combine sound
analyses with creative strategies that generate real and sustainable value for the client. We develop
and consolidate our expertise in global Competence Centers that focus on specific industries and
functional issues. We handpick interdisciplinary teams from these Competence Centers to develop the
best solutions.
