Impact of COVID-19 on Consumers' Leisure Time - China - August 2020

OVERVIEW
What you need to know
Covered in this report
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Shifts in consumers’ attitudes and behaviours
Recovery of confidence in leisure spending takes longer time
Leisure time will be reduced given higher priority to career
Prefer in-home leisure over out-of-home 
Pure entertainment will be deprioritised 
Preferred delivery format of leisure activities will change 
Figure 1: Preferred ways to consume different leisure activities after COVID-19, online VS offline, July 2020
Impact on the market and the future outlook
Figure 2: Summary of impact of COVID-19 on in-home and out-of-home leisure
The consumer
More time on self-improvement and parenting 
Figure 3: In-home leisure time allocation after the COVID-19 outbreak, May 2020
Fitness and learning outweigh other options in out-of-home leisure time
Figure 4: Out-of-home leisure time allocation, May 2020
Three factors motivate consumers to learn during leisure time
Figure 5: Reasons for learning knowledge and skills in leisure time, May 2020
Priority of ethical consumption surges when choosing in-city leisure venues
Figure 6: Consideration factors for in-city leisure venue, May 2020
Family trips on the rise, whilst solo travel becomes more niche
Figure 7: Desired travel companions after COVID-19, May 2020
Activities that benefit their career and help them feel ethical appeal to consumers 
Figure 8: Attitudes toward Leisure Activities – leisure budget, May 2020
What we think
ISSUES AND INSIGHTS
How offline entertainment adapts and survives post-outbreak
The facts
The implications
Capture the learning and self-accomplishment trend within and even beyond the leisure market 
The facts
The implications
Figure 9: Yuan Shi Mu Yu introduces wood furniture knowledge to consumers on Tmall brand official store, 2020
Feeling ethically good is the new differential 
The facts
The implications
Figure 10: KFC in collaboration with Ant Forest
Figure 11: Mindfully Made by David Jones
THE MARKET – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Long-time cautious leisure spending and life priorities more work focused
Shifts in leisure preferences: time allocation, content and delivery format
Leisure trends to watch post-outbreak
Leisure operators adapt to the changes
Future outlook 
IMPACT ON THE MARKET 
Online delivery of traditionally offline cultural activities 
Figure 12: Museum live stream landing page on TikTok, 2020
Leading video-streaming platform expands to online sports 
Responding to consumers’ desire for learning 
Figure 13: Knowledge category launched by bilibili, 2020
Figure 14: Mini courses launched by the Palace Museum for children, 2020
Cinemas come back slowly 
Figure 15: Shanghai International Film Festival, 25 July – 2 August 2020
SHIFTS IN CONSUMERS’ ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOURS 
Impact of COVID-19 on consumer finance and lifestyle
Consumers will be cautious about leisure spending for a long time 
Figure 16: Consumers’ financial status since the outbreak of COVID-19, March, May and July, 2020
Young people prioritise work over leisure
Figure 17: Consumers’ attitude toward impact of COVID-19 on career, by age, 2 July 2020
Attention to hygiene will change ways of enjoying leisure activities
Figure 18: Worries about the risks of exposure to COVID-19, 5 March and 2 July 2020
Impact of COVID-19 on consumers’ leisure preferences 
More time for in-home leisure activities
Pure out-of-home entertainment gets lower priority
Preferred delivery format of leisure content will change
Figure 19: Preferred ways to consume different leisure activities after COVID-19, online VS offline, July 2020
FUTURE OUTLOOK
How leisure trends will evolve in the post-outbreak world
Meaningful leisure time that powers consumers’ personal achievement 
Consume responsibly and feel ethically good: a new angle to decode leisure experiences
Figure 20: Changes in priority given to the environment since the outbreak of coronavirus, 2 July 2020
Satisfying the need for personal connection through leisure activities 
Leisure market outlook
Figure 21: Summary of impact of COVID-19 on in-home and out-of-home leisure
THE CONSUMER – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Consumers are prudent about leisure spending
Prefer spending leisure time at home rather than outside the home 
Learning knowledge and skills are the most preferred leisure choice both in and out of home after the COVID-19 outbreak 
Feeling ethically good gains importance 
Family and friend relationships are highly valued 
IN-HOME LEISURE TIME ALLOCATION
More in-home leisure time invested on self-improvement and parenting
Figure 22: In-home leisure time allocation after COVID-19, May 2020
Young consumers want meaningful in-home leisure through learning 
Figure 23: In-home leisure activities which late teens/early 20s want to spend more time on after COVID-19, May 2020
Figure 24: In-home leisure time allocation of selected activities – spend more time, by age, May 2020
In-home fitness will boom post-outbreak 
Figure 25: Sports and exercise time allocation after COVID-19: at home vs out of home, May 2020
Figure 26: Spend more time on in-home fitness after COVID-19, by demographic, May 2020
In-home cooking will see opportunities with early 20s consumers
Figure 27: Dining habit before the outbreak of COVID-19, September 2019 (left) and May 2019 (right)
Figure 28: Spend more time on in-home cooking/baking after COVID-19, by demographic, May 2020
Key gaming consumers are still young people aged 18-24 post-outbreak
Figure 29: Leisure time allocation on gaming, before and after COVID-19, August 2019 (before COVID-19), May 2020 (after COVID-19)
Figure 30: Leisure time allocation after COVID-19 – playing video games at home, by age, May 2020
OUT-OF-HOME LEISURE TIME ALLOCATION
Learning and health prioritised in out-of-home leisure time
Figure 31: Out-of-home leisure time allocation, May 2020
Figure 32: In-home vs Out-of-home time allocation, May 2020
Young people value learning opportunities more than entertainment 
Figure 33: Spend more out-of-home leisure time on learning knowledge or skills, by age, May 2020
Cinemas will lead in-city leisure recovery by targeting late teens/early 20s in tier one cities
Figure 34: Out-of-home leisure time allocation – going to the cinema, before vs after COVID-19, August 2019 (left), May 2020 (right)
Figure 35: Out-of-home leisure time allocation – going to the cinema after COVID-19, by city tier, May 2020
Figure 36: Spend more time on going to the cinema after COVID-19, by age, May 2020
High-income families with children will be first to resume outbound travel 
Figure 37: Spend more time on outbound travel, by demographic, May 2020
Figure 38: Potential outbound travellers’ attitudes toward travel budget, May 2020
Young families and high-income singletons show more interest in domestic travel
Figure 39: Spend more time on domestic travel, by demographic, May 2020
DRIVERS FOR LEARNING KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS IN LEISURE TIME
Three factors behind the passion for learning during leisure time
Figure 40: Reasons for learning knowledge and skills in leisure time, May 2020
Young people are more encouraged by career-related learning activities
Figure 41: Selected reasons for learning knowledge or skills in leisure time, by age, May 2020
Respond to parents’ need for support in helping children learn academic knowledge 
Figure 42: Top five reasons for taking part in learning activities in leisure time among parent consumers, May 2020
Figure 43: Parenting motivations of learning knowledge or skills in leisure time among parent consumers, by children’s age, May 2020
Figure 44: Parenting motivations of learning knowledge or skills in leisure time among parent consumers, by parents’ education level, May 2020
FACTORS FOR CHOOSING IN-CITY LEISURE VENUE 
Hygiene and sustainability on the rise 
Figure 45: Consideration factors for in-city leisure venues, May 2020
Socially responsible venues will attract mature high-income consumers 
Figure 46: Consideration factors for in-city leisure venues – supporting environmental protection*, May 2020
Figure 47: Attitude toward leisure activities, consumers who prioritise sustainability when choosing leisure venues vs those who do not, May 2020
TRAVEL COMPANIONS 
Family trips remain popular, whilst solo travel becomes even more niche
Figure 48: Desired travel companions after COVID-19, May 2020
Figure 49: Travel companions before COVID-19, November 2017 (left and right)
Market “happy time with friends” to late teen/early 20s travellers
Figure 50: Desired travel companions after COVID-19, late teens/early 20s vs older consumers, May 2020
ATTITUDES TOWARD LEISURE ACTIVITIES
Consumers stay prudent while being interested in career-benefiting and feel-good activities 
Figure 51: Attitudes toward Leisure Activities – leisure budget, May 2020
Figure 52: Attitudes toward Leisure Activities – benefit of leisure activities, May 2020
Figure 53: Attitudes toward Leisure Activities – leisure time and positive impact on surroundings, May 2020
Changing priorities in leisure time after the outbreak
More conservative toward leisure spending 
Figure 54: Comparison of attitudes toward leisure spending, before vs after COVID-19, March 2018 and May 2020
Helping career development gains rising importance 
Figure 55: Comparison of attitudes toward benefiting career development, before vs after COVID-19, March 2018 and May 2020
Enhancing relationships still important 
Figure 56: Comparison of attitudes toward family/friend relationship in leisure time, before vs after COVID-19, March 2018 and May 2020
Trading relaxation time for work
Figure 57: Comparison of attitudes toward relaxation in leisure time, before vs after COVID-19, March 2018 and May 2020
Budget control matters more to 18-24s
Figure 58: Attitude toward leisure spending, by age, May 2020
Figure 59: Attitudes toward leisure budget control after COVID-19 - big-ticket vs small-ticket spending, by age, May 2020
MEET THE MINTROPOLITANS
MinTs willing to spend more time on leisure both in and outside the home
Figure 60: In-home leisure activities which consumers would like to spend more time on, by consumer classification, May 2020
Figure 61: Out-of-home leisure activities which consumers would like to spend more time on, by consumer classification, May 2020
Big family trips find potential consumers among MinTs
Figure 62: Desired travel companions after COVID-19, by consumer classification, May 2020
In-city leisure venues can feature sustainability to target MinTs
Figure 63: Consideration factors for in-city leisure venue, by consumer classification, May 2020
Responding to MinTs’ need to feel ethically good in leisure time
Figure 64: Attitudes toward leisure activities – selected statements, by consumer classification, May 2020
Figure 65: Mintropolitans’ attitudes toward leisure activities – selected statements, by age, May 2020
APPENDIX – METHODOLOGY AND ABBREVIATIONS
Methodology
Abbreviations