In 2025, Gen Z will account for a quarter of APAC’s consumer base and will enjoy more disposable income than ever before. WGSN identifies the top priorities set to shape their mindsets and consumption habits, and how brands can make an impact with them.
Asia’s New Mainstream
While Gen Z in 2023 was preoccupied with self-definition underpinned by Asia’s locality, the cohort is now more confident in who they are and what they love, ready to spend big on regionally inspired passions and hobbies.
In 2025, Gen Z in APAC will start organising their lives around their niche hobbies and interests, from the Niche Sports Boom and Cult of Cute to gaming and music. Among these, regional tastemakers and homegrown cultural products will come to define the mainstream rather than traditional West-to-East cultural flows, especially as pop culture becomes borderless.
South Korea’s Hallyu (K-wave) will continue to be a cultural powerhouse in the region, though brands should expect to see rising demand for regionally rooted and locally relevant storytelling, as well as cultural products and experiences that more selectively target regional audiences or specific fandoms, especially across Southeast Asia. Thai pop, C-pop (Chinese pop), Bollywood and intra-Asia cultural products will also make inroads into the mainstream psyche.
Slow Luxury
In 2025 and beyond, luxury for Gen Z will become rooted in experience, leisure and cultural fluency, becoming something to participate in and savour over time rather than a simple point-in-time transaction.
A rapid democratisation of luxury is set to occur across APAC as Gen Z continues to see its spending power grow. In this context, products that have traditionally been universal signals of wealth (eg, a Rolex watch or Chanel bag) might “under certain circumstances ironically communicate the lack thereof”, as internet fashion journalist Edmond Lau points out.
To stand apart from the masses, the wealthiest Gen Z are turning to embodied forms of cultural capital that are "harder to fake". These include “10.30am fitness classes, not having roommates or the ability to have a job that’s really vague,” according to Lau.
Other signifiers of wealth will include ‘it’ luxury hospitality and journeys (staying at the right hotels, signing up for the right local tours and eating at the right restaurants) and being there before they blow up on social media. 71% of affluent Chinese female travellers prefer to invest in travel and experiences rather than material goods (Finn Partners and ILTM Asia Pacific).
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