Photo taken on Sept. 17, 2021 shows a poster of the Chinese-made game Genshin Impact in a subway station in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. [Photo/Xinhua]

On Dec. 31, the last day of 2024, Cui Zhijun and his friends visited "guzi" shops in Beijing's Wangfujing Xiyue Shopping Center, dressed in anime-character costumes. As a fan of the anime series "Naruto", this was his unique way of welcoming the New Year.

The word "guzi," a homonym for the English word "goods," refers to badges, acrylic figure stands, cards and other merchandise featuring ACG (animation, comic and game) culture elements.

Like Cui, many young Chinese people are attracted by the emerging "guzi consumption" phenomenon and are willing to shop for "good moods" -- paying for the emotional value of the guzi.

GOODS & GOOD MOODS

"The pleasure that guzi gives me is that it offers me a new way to interact with friends old and new, and it's also a hobby that makes my life more fulfilling," Cui said.

Most guzi cost no more than 100 yuan (about 13.9 U.S. dollars), and the most commonly seen ones are badges of around 15 yuan each. A few rare guzi may reach prices of more than 1,000 yuan.

In recent years, with the rise of the ACG industry, more and more young people, especially Generation Z and younger generations, have become keen on collecting guzi products.

This emerging trend has created fresh business opportunities. Dimension GO, a guzi store brand, opened its Wangfujing Xiyue store in November 2024. The store saw more than 1 million yuan in turnover during its first month.

"My favorite character is Imai Lisa. She is a character in a music game," said Feng Gu, a cosplay enthusiast. "I like her because of her character. I think she is like an older sister who is very sunny and caring."

Feng said that, apart from collecting relevant guzi, she also likes to participate in cosplay team-building activities, based around a particular franchise or story -- referred to as "IP", meaning "intellectual property." At such events, everyone dresses up as different characters in the IP, and takes photos or records videos together.

Another guzi fan surnamed Song, born in 2010, also made new friends through guzi. She said that she once participated in an offline guzi blind-box activity and found it hard to get the piece she wanted. Then another participant happened to have the very piece of guzi and generously gave it to her. She felt particularly happy and grateful. Song said they exchanged contacts and still keep in touch, talking about guzi and their favorite IPs.

Dang Qiong, associate professor at the school of journalism and communication at Guangxi University, said ACG culture has a strong appeal to young people, especially teenagers, and guzi-related communities can meet their emotional needs for idols and favorite IPs.

Young people find friends with similar interests, gaining a sense of belonging through sharing and exchanges, Dang said, adding that the purchase and display of rare guzi has now become a way for them to express their identity.

According to a McKinsey survey, 64 percent of Chinese consumers attach more importance to emotional consumption, and this is evident among young consumers in particular.

"GUZI FEVER" ONLINE & OFFLINE

In recent years, guzi has become sought after by many young people, both online and offline. Because of the astonishing price of certain limited edition products, it is also nicknamed "plastic gold".

According to data analysis provider iiMedia Research, the "guzi economy" will continue to grow in the next few years, with the overall market size expected to exceed 300 billion yuan in 2029.

Guzi has sparked heated discussions online, with relevant topics viewed more than 10 billion times on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. On the Xiaohongshu platform, the page views of guzi-related topics have exceeded 2 billion.

In addition to the online discussions, the social functions of guzi have offered offline shopping malls new options for improving customer flow and stimulating consumption vitality.

According to a research report of Zheshang Securities, more than 60 core business circles in more than 20 first- and second-tier cities in China have been creating landmarks for ACG-related consumption.

These business areas not only consist of guzi shops, but also hold related flash-mob activities to provide fresh experiences, as well as opportunities for guzi lovers to communicate.

Shanghai Bailian ZX creative center, a shopping mall featuring ACG culture, has welcomed more than 15 million customers within 18 months of reopening in January 2023, holding more than 700 events. The total sales revenue during the period exceeded 500 million yuan.

"Compared with online consumption, customers choose offline consumption to save waiting costs, have a better shopping and after-sales experience, and obtain more emotional value during the process," said He Zhiwei, Beijing director of Dimension GO.

With the rapid development of domestic animation and mobile games in China, the cultural and creative industries and IP derivatives are welcoming a larger market space.

Compared with products imported from Japan and other countries, domestic guzi not only has its own advantages in terms of price and logistics speed, but is also gaining recognition for its own cultural value.

In many guzi stores, domestic IPs occupy a large proportion, such as prize-winning mobile games Honkai: Star Rail, and Genshin Impact.

Dang, the associate professor, believes that in order to achieve long-term development of the industry, it is necessary to pay attention to the cultural values. Meanwhile, the industrial chain can be expanded by enriching product categories and innovating business models, such as developing virtual content, IP-derived services and immersive experiences, to create more cultural value and a better consumption experience.