Discussion keeps the world turning.
This is Roundtable.
March 8th is International Women's Day under the theme For All Women and Girls' Rights, Equality, Empowerment.
This year's theme calls for actions that can unlock equal rights, power and opportunities for all and a feminist future where no one is left behind.
Central to this vision is empowering the next generation, youth, particularly young women and adolescent girls as catalysts for lasting change.
There was one survey conducted here in China where they posed the question, what do women really want in 2025?
We'll see what the respondents had to say.
After that, mobile minigames have exploded in popularity, transforming casual gaming into a major, major industry.
These bite -sized experiences designed for quick bursts of entertainment capitalize on the accessibility of smartphones and the desire for instant gratification.
Are you a mobile mini -gamer?
If so, well, you're probably already pretty well informed of what we'll discuss today.
But if not, well, we may be able to give you a couple of recommendations to help you kill an hour or two or ten of your time.
We are live from Beijing.
This is Roundtable.
I'm Steve, and I'm joined today by Niu Honglin and Lai Ming.
first on the program.
International Women's Day serves as a powerful reminder of the ongoing journey towards gender equality, celebrating the achievements of women while acknowledging the persistent challenges.
As we strive for a more equitable future, we must ensure that we are truly listening to the diverse voices of women, ensuring their unique needs and aspirations are at the heart of our collective efforts.
Today, we'll discuss some survey results from some questions posed to women here in China, ranging from lifestyle to consumption trends.
Niu Honglin, good afternoon.
Weren't you given the day off today?
Well, technically speaking, the day falls on Saturday of this week, which is why I'm still here.
And I'm very glad that even though it's not a roundtable day day, because we're not live on Saturdays and Sundays, we still take the occasion to celebrate the day, talk about women -related issues, half the population.
We're doing the right thing.
Yeah. And I thought, wait, should I be hosting the show today or should Honglin be hosting the show today?
And then I remembered a few days ago, Li Ming, she said, Steve, you're hosting the show.
So, OK, I got it. I got it.
And I'm happy to be here.
At least I'm making the call.
Li Ming's here. Good afternoon to you as well.
All right. So this is an important time for women all around the world.
But this is an important time in China here too.
Yes, because actually the year 2025 is a pivotal moment as it marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
This document is the most progressive and widely endorsed blueprint for women's and girls rights worldwide that transformed the women's rights agenda in terms of legal protection, access to services, youth engagement, and change in social norms, stereotypes, and ideas stuck in the past.
So having this day celebrated after 30 years, we see the progress we've made.
We are also still facing certain challenges that we want to address, and we're seeing what we're going for the future.
Wonderful. And Lai Ming, as I mentioned in the opening, celebrated internationally as well.
Yes. And I thought we were talking about the survey about women's preference on how do we tell and whether they are making their voices heard.
It's very, very important.
And whether people are paying attention to them.
Yes. We already mentioned International Women's Day.
It is a global day celebrating the socioeconomic, cultural and political achievements of women.
The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.
Significant activity is witnessed worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women's achievements or rally for women's equality.
So even though we will be focusing on China and Chinese women today, it is celebrated worldwide.
100%. All right, Lai Ming, let's get into the survey.
So who did this survey and who did they ask and what were they asking about?
Well, one of the major online shopping platforms, JD, they did a survey about 1 ,200 female consumers, and they want to explore topics such as lifestyle, emotional regulation and consumption, in the hope of finding out what women want in the year 2025.
and the findings revealed that, well, inner stability apparently is a goal that Chinese women are demonstrating in their shopping behavior.
Slightly over 58 % of women see inner stability as the key breakthrough for 2025, which means they are seeking independence, self -confidence, and self -love.
and inner stability in Chinese is this reminds me more often of the word that we use in workout when you say core when you have a solid core then everything else that with your body can be rather stable so I think this is a reference to the term that we use in workout and inner stability implies that But women don't necessarily have to suppress their emotions or feel nothing in every situation.
But it means that women have the strength to face difficulties in life while still embracing life.
So I'm thinking, for instance, we're not expecting women or, in fact, everybody to be calm like still water.
I'm often guilty of that I wanted to appear stable even though I'm not but on certain occasions for instance when people go to karaoke I still wear that masquerade and then that may not be the right kind of approach to face so my understanding about inner stability is the ability to rise above the situation and to behave appropriately for the occasion Inner stability is one of those terms where it could mean something.
It's kind of subjective, isn't it?
It could mean one thing to one person and another thing to another person.
And that is the key, because we've had the phase of saying that women are emotional.
When a man threw a tantrum in a workplace, it's a man being strong enough, being powerful and authoritative.
And when a woman does that, it's accused of, ah, she's so emotional.
She's so sensitive.
Yes. And that is why for a certain phase, women, not only in China, around the world, we're trying to prove that, no, it's not a weakness.
So, we do not want to appear very emotional in the workplace.
We do not want to appear weak or vulnerable.
And that was the phase.
And later on, we started to realize, like Lamming said, everyone's different.
Your emotion can be a tool.
Your emotion is justified.
So instead of proving to the world that we're strong, independent women from the outside and maybe in the inside, we're still always sometimes a little bit panicking about certain challenges and sometimes feel that we're maybe I'm not ready for this, but we want to put on the mask and show to the world that I am very strong woman.
We passed that phase.
Now we're in the in the phase of we understand that there are certain things in the world that would trigger a certain emotional reaction.
And it's OK. And we are confident that little tear or little like throwing a little drama is not a big deal.
It does not really affect who we are and it does not really affect how people view us.
So I think that is what inner stability is about.
Yeah, I think for me a definition of inner stability would be, it doesn't mean that you can't react emotionally to something.
It means that you react emotionally to it, you deal with that emotion, and then you're able to process that and move on.
And to me that's what that term means.
But again, it's different for every person.
But from the survey, getting back to the survey, did the women in the survey feel inner stability?
Well, slightly over 23 percent of women describe themselves as very emotionally stable, saying that they can remain calm and composed in most situations.
And on a scale of one to 10, they would rate themselves eight or above.
At the meantime, nearly 53 % of women consider themselves basically stable, stating that they can handle most challenges calmly and are not easily influenced by others.
I think I'm there, by the way.
Yours is more like a dynamic stability.
For certain aspects, you're not stable, but overall, you're adjusting quite well.
That's everybody. That's everybody.
That's every person on planet Earth.
In some situations, they are stable.
in others they are not where would where would we rank our emotional stability on a scale of one to ten let's answer this survey question ourselves oh i would go with maybe a six or seven six point five i was gonna say yeah and that's on a good day i think it goes to zero on on other days and funny that i from the very beginning i questioned the essence of the survey because this 1 ,200 women.
Who shop on JD. Exactly.
It's from a shopping platform.
But I think it's a funny discussion.
And also women around China are having these kind of conversations on a lot of different social media.
So even though we're talking about this particular survey, actually the conversation expands to the entire society, which would also lead to the question, why is JD .com doing this?
And how can they get the result?
And what are the results go to when it comes to purchasing behavior?
And actually, women are buying different things to try to find their inner stability or try to improve their inner stability.
Yeah. So let's remember that we need to take the results of this survey.
And I think this is what we usually say when we look at survey results.
We have to take them with a grain of salt and we really have to remember what was the source of these questions in the first place.
But, you know, for the sake of our conversation today, we'll continue on with the survey results.
So what did they consider the factors that contribute to inner stability from the survey?
What types of things in their lives?
42 % of them consider life experiences as consisting or contributing to inner stability while 22 % think of self -discipline and hard work as a factor and then another 22 % think financial independence is a major determining factor here We women are so hard on ourselves we think about our past experiences We think about whether or not we are conducting good self -discipline and putting in hard work.
And we want to be financially independent.
Do you men think about those things in your daily life?
Yeah, more or less the same thing.
But I would rank them differently.
I would rank financial stability first.
In fact, I would consider self -discipline and hard work as the top priority.
Well, I may be young.
I may be starting in a new career.
I might be fledgling.
I don't know a lot.
But as long as I'm willing to put in the hours and hard work, I'm sure that at some point I'm going to be able to have a control of my life and therefore be what I want to be and contribute to the society.
Yeah. And in that case, it comes down to kind of a personality difference rather than a difference among the sexes.
Yeah. So they asked the question, too, what are some ways that people help gain inner stability when they feel some sort of emotional turmoil?
And the number one answer was sleeping at 43%, traveling at 42%, and then shopping at 35%.
And that, I think, is still also to both genders.
Yeah, I agree. And, you know, when people talk about retail therapy...
That's a very euphemistic way to say it.
Well, people kind of laugh it off, but it's a real thing.
There's been studies and there have been research that's shown that shopping decisions can help reinforce a sense of personal control over our environment, and it can ease feelings of sadness.
There was a study from 2014 from the Journal of Consumer Psychology that found that sadness is generally connected to a sense that we lack power to change our situation.
So in that sense, it makes total sense that if you go shopping and buy something, you're complete control over your choice, over your purchase.
And that gives you some sense of control, which can help out with that inner stability.
That also explains, I'm being very biased here.
That also explains how come sometimes when men enter middle age period, they start marathon.
And when women enter that age, we started to do yoga or started to do some other kind of exercises still gaining control over our lives and that's for sure fishing fishing you started fishing no I haven't but I know a lot of I can't imagine you on a lake with a fishing I shouldn't I shouldn't really but I I know a lot of people who've started fishing in midlife let's jump ahead to some of the goals again these are uh referencing the survey questions uh what are some of the goals of women in 2025 uh becoming healthier maintaining an optimistic mindset, enriching life experiences, striving for greater
economic independence, and continuing to learn and grow.
And I want them all.
I like this list. I think it's very accurate.
Yes. And the percentages are not very far apart from becoming healthier at 47%, going down to learning and growing at 35%.
Everything else you said falls in between that range.
So yeah, those are all great goals for not just for 2025 for 2024 for 2045 name a year and those goals might repeat themselves yeah but if you really look at those goals actually women are concentrating more on ourselves because previously more people would might consider women as a pivotal part of the family they're taking on most of the responsibility of the family they want to take care of family members, not only their husbands, but also the extended family member, the in -laws and their parents as well, and of course, the kid.
So previously, that could sometimes be like having a happier family could be a very important goal.
Yet we're focusing more and more on ourselves as well.
Self -development and like on the list, enriching life experiences, that would take a really big chunk of your time, the time that you used to use to do family chores.
So I'm actually really happy to see the changing on these kind of lists.
Yeah, because it's not easy to enrich one part of your life if another part of your life requires 12 hours of your time or 15 hours of your time, right?
It's a very delicate balance.
I thought this was kind of interesting.
In the survey, they asked, what do you want to say to other women in the report?
And Zhou Riyang, who was a survey respondent, said, I hope every girl can discover her true and adorable self, seeking her own happiness and freedom, having endless energy and strength in her dreams and life, accomplishing challenges and growth that make her feel satisfied, and being confident and at peace with herself.
Thoughts on that? I think it's very, it's definitely a beautiful saying, and I'm not really sure the age of this survey director or survey creator, yet I feel like it must be a wise woman with a certain age, definitely above 30 or around 30.
You think so? I think so.
But my my feeling towards this is that I feel like today, nowadays, girls are growing up in a society with an atmosphere or with a common perception about women, what women should do in the future.
What are responsibilities of women?
And differently than when I was a little girl.
So when I was a girl, my parents are still going to say, well, I'm glad you want to study science, but be careful because possibly your nature or your talent in learning science is not good as or cannot compete with the boys in your classes.
You need to work extra hard.
Yet today, we do not say that to young women anymore.
And I've seen many short videos and posts on the internet of actually young girls being very confident and knowing what they want.
So my feeling is that though it's a very sweet message, it might be not as necessary as 20 years ago.
I sense compassion, confidence, and also optimism in this.
because this is not just a girl.
In this quote, you mean?
Yeah, in this quote.
This is not just not a girl wanting good things only for herself.
She's actually expecting and hoping, wishing for good things for other girls of her own gender.
So I could sense that confidence.
I could sense that compassion.
And so I think this is a good example of how young girls this age.
Supporting each other.
Yeah, it's nice. It's a it's a lovely answer for sure.
I think the pressures perhaps have changed.
Now, remember, I don't know what I'm talking about.
It's just my perception and and what I what I assume.
The reason I said I think the pressures are different, different these days for young women because of social media and because of the Internet.
Right. You look online and you see what you think you are supposed to look like.
There are standards for beauty that a young woman may feel that she needs to follow.
And that can affect things like self -confidence, which is a very important thing for a young person to develop, not just young girls, but young boys as well.
So I think that the point that I'm trying to make is that, yeah, you're right.
Maybe 20, 50 years ago, you might have gotten the message from your parents, well, you might not be good enough at science to compete with the boys in your class.
You don't hear that message anymore, so that pressure might be gone.
But as society evolves and changes and things come about like new technology, then new pressures come.
Yes. Right? So it doesn't mean that it's any easier now, perhaps, than it was a long time ago.
It's still quite tough indeed.
All right, so let's get back to the survey.
Now, remember, this is done by a shopping site.
So of course they asked, what do you want to buy in 2025?
What were some of those answers?
Personal image management still is around.
High spending on beauty, skincare, or personal care products have been marked by the shopping platform, followed by family -oriented purchases, strong demand for mother and baby products, household cleaning supplies, fresh groceries, nutrition and food.
So in spite of what Niu Hong Ling said earlier about women being more careful about themselves, being more attentive about themselves, yeah, they still consider themselves a pivotal member of the family.
So they are still doing a large chunk of the chore within the household.
And then diverse consumption patterns means that a growing focus on health, fitness, smart technology, self -improvement, and emotional healing.
Another aspect is rational and experience -driven shopping.
And that's what women are doing on these platforms.
Over 50 % of women prioritize informed decisions, precise needs fulfillment, and better shopping experiences.
Speaking of shopping experiences and smart technology, go on.
Tell us about your wearable that you have on.
Okay. So when I say but we're still smart, I actually meant that when it comes to shopping in certain occasions, It is here, it's becoming a trend here in China that on almost all holidays, there are different types of discounts on especially social, online shopping platforms.
So around Women's Day, there's also that kind of discounts happening for around a week or two.
And it's good time to purchase, which explains how come we're purchasing for ourselves as well as for the entire family.
But when it comes to purchasing for ourselves, recently I've had this fun purchasing experience.
I bought a continuous glossol monitor, which is a device that tracks blood pressure levels in real time throughout the day and night.
It consists of a small sensor inserted under the skin, and I wear it for 14 days.
With a little app on my phone, I would be able to monitor my blood sugar level every single minute.
Actually, it updates every five minutes.
So I'll see the trend of the changing of my blood sugar.
I'll know the changing are due to, for example, the food I eat, the beverage I consume.
A bowl of noodles. Or it might be because I'm walking for around half an hour after dinner.
And I'll know, oh, that helps with blood pressure, blood sugar.
So it is my way of taking care of myself.
Very nice. And she's gifted them to a lot of people in the office.
You bought multiple.
Yeah, because it's a good deal.
Did you give one to Lyme?
I tried. I turned it down.
I figured as much. Another thing, another trend happening purchase -wise is with tech and smart living as well.
Women are enthusiastic adopters of smart home technology.
That's cool. with over 40 percent of respondents saying that innovative smart products enhance their emotional well -being as well um things for the home like robotic vacuum cleaners uh washers of different sorts dishwashers uh that increased uh by a certain amount year over year um but not only that smart bathroom cabinets have you ever seen a smart smart mirror before in your in a bathroom Not in my bathroom.
In a hotel. Yeah, those are quite cool.
Smart everything. Smart wall sockets, smart curtains, smart showers, all saw sales increases of over 50%.
And the stereotype of women not good with tech is no longer there.
We're quite enthusiastic when it comes to making our home smart.
Absolutely. What about, let's move on to the younger generation then, shall we?
Gen Z consumption preferences versus, and then maybe we can compare them to Gen X and the baby boomers as well.
Nyo Honglin, what do we find there?
Well, actually, we see Gen Zs prioritize themselves.
Self -rewarding purchases, emotional well -being products, and social media -driven trends like Jelly Cat, plush toys, we've talked about this on Roundtable, and when it comes to Gen X, balances rational consumption with family responsibilities because we have those responsibilities that makes total sense.
And baby boomers are redefining aging with a focus on travel, wellness, smart living, sales of beauty, spa services.
I want to be a baby boomer now and outbound travel experience.
These have surged among this demographic.
See, the thing is, I feel like everybody in every age group are having a better experience than mine.
Exactly. And I also want to buy all the things that you just said.
I feel like I want to be responding to this survey as well.
