Consumers select blind boxes at a Pop Mart store in Xidan Joy City, a shopping mall in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 28, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

In a bustling mall in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, 21-year-old Xu Yuxi carefully shakes a colorful blind box, her eyes narrowed in concentration.

The college student is hunting for a "hidden edition" figurine, a weekend ritual she calls her "little escape" from academic stress. "If I get the rare one, it feels like I have won a tiny lottery," she said.

Xu is part of a growing wave of young Chinese consumers fueling a cultural shift -- spending not for practicality but emotional value.

From collectible blind boxes and anime merchandise to AI-powered companionship apps, China's Gen Z and millennials are investing in products and experiences that offer psychological comfort, identity expression, or fleeting moments of delight.

Referred to as "emotional consumption" by industry analysts, this trend emphasizes mental satisfaction over functionality. The China Consumers Association reports that a growing number of young consumers view "mood enhancement" as a crucial factor in their purchasing decisions.

In a shop popular among anime fans in downtown Chongqing, shelves overflow with character-themed goods, referred to as guzi in youth slang, while teens and young adults dressed up as fantasy protagonists gather to trade tips on rare finds.

"The younger generations grew up with material abundance but emotional scarcity," said Shi Xiumei, a psychologist at Chongqing Technology and Business University. "These purchases fill a void. They're about self-expression and coping with loneliness or pressure."

Retailers are capitalizing on this craving. Chen Xin, general manager of an anime-themed mall in Chongqing, noted that during this year's Chinese New Year, peak visitor traffic hit 65,000, while over 5,000 anime-related sales were made in a single day.

The mall where Chen works hosts cosplay photoshoots and fan meetups, thereby transforming shopping into social gatherings. "We're selling a sense of belonging," Chen said.

The economics of emotional consumption is evident in the spending habits of young collectors. "The rarer, more exquisite, and more popular an IP-derived collectible is, the more sought-after it becomes," said 24-year-old Hu from Nanjing in east China's Jiangsu Province. As a devoted fan of collecting photo cards known as xiaoka, Hu said, "simply admiring my collection fills me with joy and eases my fatigue."

Meanwhile, startups like Monster Tribe are building communities around shared emotions. The platform, headquartered in Chongqing, organizes 500 monthly events, ranging from therapeutic book clubs to rage rooms, attracting more than 10,000 participants. "Modern loneliness is a market," said Monster Tribe co-founder Yang Zhengpeng.

This sector's growth is staggering, with Pop Mart, China's top blind-box brand, projecting that its 2024 sales would surpass 10 billion yuan (around 1.39 billion U.S. dollars), up 60 percent year on year. In addition, Jellycat CAFé's Shanghai pop-up quickly became a must-visit spot after opening.

"We look forward to the emergence of more high-quality emotional consumption products and business models that convey more positive values, promoting mental well-being and emotional fulfillment in society," said Chen.