China’s young consumers fuel a booming companionship economy

Young Chinese consumers are spending on more than products. They are paying for company, conversation and practical help, turning loneliness and pressure into a market for “emotional value.” On Mount Tai, one of the country’s best-known peaks, that can mean hiring a stranger to walk beside you, carry your bag and take your photos for a few hundred yuan.

A market built on company

What used to happen informally among friends is increasingly sold as a service. The broader companionship economy now includes paid partners for hiking, running, sightseeing and even eating hotpot, with providers often drawn from the same generation as their customers: students and young gig workers. They advertise on social media with promises of “emotional value,” conversation and practical help, a pitch that makes the service sound less like a luxury and more like a response to everyday strain.

The appeal is easy to see on Mount Tai. The climb is steep, crowded and physically demanding, and a “climbing buddy” can turn the ascent into something more manageable, especially for visitors who want support without the awkwardness of asking friends to come along. The service bundles companionship and logistics in one transaction, a sign that social ease itself is becoming something people are willing to buy.

Why emotional value is now a spending category

The best evidence that this is more than a novelty comes from a 2025 Z Gen emotional-consumption report by the Shanghai Youth Research Center and Soul App. The survey covered 5,306 people aged 16 and above across different Chinese city tiers, and it found that emotional value has become a core factor in consumption decisions. In other words, young buyers are increasingly weighing not just price and usefulness, but how a purchase makes them feel.

That shift fits a wider picture of caution. The report also found that many young people are still spending on travel, health, learning and entertainment experiences, even as they grow more careful about bigger financial commitments. The pattern suggests selective spending rather than broad confidence: cut back where risk feels high, but keep buying experiences that offer comfort, distraction or a sense of control.

The surrounding economic backdrop helps explain why. Urban loneliness, weakened household wealth and concern over youth unemployment are all feeding demand for low-stakes companionship and emotionally resonant consumption. When the labor market feels unstable and family balance sheets feel fragile, a paid hiking companion or a small treat that promises comfort can look less indulgent than pragmatic.

What the money says about demand

There is no official tally for the size of the companionship economy, but estimates cited by state media put it at about 50 billion yuan, or roughly $7.4 billion, in 2025. That is large enough to show a real consumer base, not just a passing meme. It also suggests a market with room to branch out as more services package social interaction, reassurance and convenience into a saleable product.

The spending extends beyond companionship platforms. Chinese media have described a broader move toward “spiritual” or inner-peace consumption, including temple tourism and emotionally resonant luxury goods. The common thread is not status alone, but relief: purchases that offer calm, symbolic meaning or a temporary sense of belonging in a period marked by pressure and uncertainty.

That framing matters because it shows how consumer behavior is changing at the edge of confidence. A generation that once might have spent on conspicuous goods is increasingly paying for experiences that soften stress and fill social gaps. The willingness to spend on emotional value suggests that the problem is not only what young people want to buy, but what they feel is missing from daily life.

What this says about China’s future

The companionship economy is a barometer of sentiment as much as a business trend. Its growth points to a consumer class that remains active, but more guarded, more emotionally selective and more sensitive to risk than previous cohorts. A few hundred yuan for a climbing buddy on Mount Tai is a small purchase; the larger signal is that social support itself is being monetized in a market shaped by anxiety, burnout and a dimmer view of the years ahead.