Photo/Zuo Menghan (NBD)

In recent years, with the rise of young consumers represented by the post-2000s generation, consumption behaviors driven by entertainment, interest, and social interaction have become popular, becoming a huge engine for the next stage of consumption upgrade.

In this process, Chengdu has quickly seen a large number of “non-standard” consumption scenes focusing on youth culture, represented by Eastern Suburb Memory, COSMO, Lu Hu Lake, and Dayuan. These have set off a more youthful and diversified consumption trend, including anime, subculture, domestic animation and film, gaming, e-sports, Citywalk, etc., fully demonstrating the commercial cultural characteristics of “openness, inclusiveness, leisure, and enjoyment”.

Chengdu is becoming a field of consumer gravity for young people.

On social networks, the Tianfu Red Shopping Center near Tianfu Square in Chengdu has quietly become popular in niche areas. This mall, with its unique “anime culture”, has quickly become a cultural landmark that anime lovers must check in. Now, more than 50% of the business represented by Tianfu Red are anime and cultural creativity.

Not only inside the Tianfu Red Shopping Center, but also outside Tianfu Red, there are many cosers. Tianfu Red has quietly promoted the transformation of the consumption format and culture of the Tianfu Square business district, becoming an important label of the city’s anime culture.

In 2023, COSMO, where trendy people gather, even attracted many tourists from other places, and was rated by netizens as “the place in Chengdu most likely to get rheumatism - too trendy.”

Another emerging trendy gathering place is Eastern Suburb Memory. The difference is that the e-sports industry, short video & live broadcast industry, and cultural and creative industry are clustered here, claiming that “only trendy people can work here.”

These two newly popular gathering places for trendy people also have many similarities. For example, they have introduced many local trendy brands represented by 1807; anime, rap, Hanfu, skateboarding, HIPHOP, electronic music, retro, outdoor… In these two places, there is no word for niche, “subculture” is the mainstream.

Now, Eastern Suburb Memory has formed a “industry circle” of trendy brands.

Ariseism (the first store in the country) is a clothing brand that integrates new oriental aesthetics, rock music, racing, illustration and other cultures. It originated in Hangzhou. After developing online for 3 years, the first physical store was settled in Eastern Suburb Memory. “In other cities, there are few places like Eastern Suburb Memory where a large number of trendy brand stores are gathered. There are also many young people here, they have various dressing styles.”

Ariseism clerk Alin said that the market’s enthusiasm also confirmed the original intention of the brand’s site selection, “opened in December last year, the monthly turnover reached 3.95 million, far exceeding expectations.”

Photo/Zhang Jian (NBD)

Another major subdivision of consumption in interest, entertainment, and social consumption is the consumption of cultural and creative IP.