Analysis of the Impact of the Rise of Experience Economy on Consumer Sector Investments

According to the New Year’s consumption data released by Douyin Life Services, from December 30, 2025 to January 1, 2026, experience economy-related consumption showed explosive growth, reflecting consumers’ strong demand for experience-based consumption:

• Supermarket group purchase voucher orders increased by 164% year-on-year
  , demonstrating the strong growth of experiential retail [0]
• Hospitality group purchase orders increased by 42% year-on-year
  , and hotel and homestay orders increased by 63% year-on-year [1]
• Orders for “Heartbeat List Hotels” based on real user reviews surged by 152% year-on-year [1]
• In-depth experience consumption grew significantly
  :
  • Group purchase orders for rural tourism (ancient villages and towns) increased by 102% year-on-year
  • Group purchase orders for intangible cultural heritage tourism increased by 45% year-on-year
  • Group purchase orders for concert tourism increased by 78% year-on-year [1]

The ice-snow economy is becoming an important growth pole of the experience economy. Data shows:

• The number of bookings in the national ice-snow tourism market increased by 96% year-on-year, and consumption amount increased by 76% year-on-year [2]
• Jilin Province’s ski trips have maintained the first place in the country in cumulative growth over the past decade and have entered a new stage of rapid growth [2]
• Ctrip data shows that booking volume for some ski resorts rose by 220% [2]
• Jilin Province launched its first “Ice-Snow Holiday”, receiving 119% more tourists year-on-year during the holiday [3]

Consumer behavior is shifting from

, a trend particularly evident in cultural tourism consumption [1]. From event tourism, ice-snow tourism to intangible cultural heritage tourism and small town tourism, the demand for diversified in-depth experiences has grown significantly, marking a profound transformation in cultural tourism consumption patterns [1].

• As a core carrier of immersive experiences, cultural tourism performances benefit from the growth in consumers’ demand for in-depth cultural experiences
• Wansui Mountain Martial Arts City, Hetou Old Street · Datang Baixi Garden, Shanghai Disney Resort, and Beijing Universal Resort ranked among the top ten popular attractions due to immersive experiences [1]

• Current stock price: $8.19, market capitalization: $215.0 billion, P/E: 27.02x [0]
• Recent stock performance: +0.12% in January, -3.65% in March, -7.25% in one year [0]
• Financial performance: 2025Q3 EPS $0.17 exceeded expectations by 11.4%, but revenue was 10.82% below expectations [0]
• Net profit margin up to 35.53%, operating margin 47.27%, strong profitability [0]
• Sufficient cash reserves: current ratio 6.12, quick ratio 6.11 [0]

• Current stock price: $36.76, market capitalization: $40.7 billion, P/E:19.05x [0]
• Recent performance: +1.69% in January [0]
• Relying on Buddhist culture and mountain landscapes, focusing on in-depth cultural tourism and meditation vacations

• Current stock price: $10.60, market capitalization: $27.0 billion, P/E:106.00x [0]
• Based on the Tang Dynasty cultural IP, promoting linkage between scenic spot performances and cultural and creative products, with regional cultural IP and traffic advantages

• Hotel and homestay orders increased by 63% year-on-year [1]
• Orders for “Heartbeat List Hotels” surged by 152% year-on-year, reflecting high demand for high-quality experience-based hotels [1]

• Current stock price: $25.27, market capitalization: $230.0 billion, P/E:48.71x [0]
• Recent performance: +3.78% in January, +13.12% in March, +13.52% in six months [0]
• 2025Q3 EPS $0.35 was 7.73% below expectations, revenue was 4.72% below expectations [0]
• As a domestic hotel leader, it benefits from the recovery of hospitality and leisure travel

Hong Kong’s first Andaz brand hotel is expected to open in 2027, reflecting optimism about the demand for high-end accommodation experiences [4]

• Pop Mart promotes experience-based consumption growth through IP operation and channel innovation
• Miniso continues to expand overseas markets with cost-effective experience-based retail

• Current stock price: $193.10, market capitalization: $2,564.6 billion HKD, P/E:34.14x [0]
• Recent performance: +2.88% in January, +104.99% in one year, +791.92% in three years [0]
• Excellent profitability: net profit margin 30.32%, operating margin40.58%, ROE up to54.52% [0]
• Healthy cash flow: current ratio3.01, quick ratio2.63 [0]

• Current stock price: $37.40, market capitalization: $457.6 billion HKD, P/E:19.11x [0]
• Recent performance: +2.75% in January [0]
• Financial stability: net profit margin10.81%, operating margin16.89%, ROE20.24% [0]
• Analyst rating: Goldman Sachs maintains “Buy” rating [0]

• Current stock price: $94.56, market capitalization: $1,846.3 billion, P/E:57.54x [0]
• Recent performance: +4.82% in January, +35.75% in March, +50.50% in one year [0]
• Sufficient cash reserves: current ratio5.82, quick ratio4.03 [0]
• Net profit margin6.38%, operating margin9.55% [0]
• Benefits from the growth of inbound tourism and policy support

• Current stock price: $111.87, market capitalization: $2,018.1 billion USD, P/E:16.33x [0]
• As a global theme park leader, it benefits from offline experience demand and global recovery

plans to build a new theme park in Saudi Arabia, which will drive regional experience economy development [5]

1. Upgrade trend from “commodity consumption” to “experience consumption”:
   Consumers are willing to pay a premium for unique experiences
2. Gen Z becomes the main consumer force:
   Values personalization, socialization, and immersive experiences
3. Technology empowers experience upgrade:
   AR/VR, AI and other technologies improve experience quality
4. Policy support:
   Finance will implement more active policies, make good use of personal consumption loans and “double interest subsidies” to support expanding domestic demand and boosting consumption [6]

Sub-sector	Core driving factors	Focus points
Cultural tourism performances	Demand for immersive experiences	IP operation, content innovation capabilities
Ice-snow tourism	Winter Olympics heritage, policy support	Ski resort resources, supporting facilities
Trendy play retail	Young consumer groups	IP incubation, channel expansion
Hotel accommodation	Travel recovery, experience upgrade	Service quality, brand differentiation
Theme parks	Offline entertainment demand	IP influence, operation capabilities

1. Macroeconomic risk:
   Consumption recovery may be less than expected
2. Increased competition risk:
   Many participants in each sub-sector, fierce competition
3. Policy regulatory risk:
   Cultural tourism, education and other industries are greatly affected by policies
4. Seasonal fluctuations:
   Cultural tourism, ice-snow and other industries are obviously affected by seasonal factors

• Short-term:
  Focus on the peak season of cultural tourism consumption before New Year’s Day and Spring Festival, and layout elastic targets such as hotels, scenic spots, and performances
• Medium-term:
  Focus on companies with strong IP operation capabilities and innovation capabilities, such as Pop Mart and Songcheng Performance
• Long-term:
  Layout the entire experience economy industry chain, including content creation, IP operation, channel distribution, offline scenes, etc.

[0] Jinling API Data
[1] Xinhuanet - Immersive Tourism Becomes Mainstream: New Paradigm of Cultural Tourism in the Experience Economy Era (http://www.xinhuanet.com/tech/20251231/2e28203b703044c8a21a4c17012fa5a6/c.html)
[2] Shangguan News - Ice-Snow Smile Curve | China, How to Slide Out Such a “Smile Curve”? (https://www.jfdaily.com/news/detail?id=1039162)
[3] Phoenix News - Our Province’s First “Ice-Snow Holiday” Becomes Popular, Receiving 119% More Tourists Year-on-Year (https://i.ifeng.com/c/8ozVrXatQ20)
[4] Yahoo Finance - Hyatt’s Occupancy Rate Near 90%, Optimistic About Prospects, Hong Kong’s First Andaz Brand Hotel to Open in 2027 (https://hk.finance.yahoo.com/news/凱悅入住率近九成-看好前景-港首間安達仕品牌酒店2027開幕-185200078.html)
[5] Wall Street Journal - Universal Studios Plans to Build New Theme Park in Saudi Arabia (https://cn.wsj.com/articles/環球影城擬在沙烏地新建主題公園-15540822)
[6] Yahoo Finance - Ministry of Finance: Extra-Long-Term Special Treasury Bonds Will Be Issued Next Year (https://hk.finance.yahoo.com/news/財政部-明年將發行超長期特別國債-122949646.html)