"Small Indulgences for Me" How 2030s Relieve Work Stress Through 'Revenge Spending'

2030 Prioritize 'Spending for Myself' Over Saving
Last Year's Luxury Sales 50% Led by Youth
Experts: "MZ Generation Traits... Focused on Present Happiness and Preferences"

Customers are lined up in front of the luxury goods hall at the Lotte Department Store Main Branch in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] # Choi, a worker in his 20s, has recently found great enjoyment in shopping for daily necessities as well as fashion items such as clothes and shoes through his smartphone. This new hobby emerged due to restrictions on outdoor activities caused by COVID-19. Choi said, "As I live a busy life, my meetings with acquaintances have significantly decreased lately," adding, "I relieve the stress from work through shopping." Although his salary is not sufficient, Choi revealed that he does not hesitate to spend about 300,000 won a month on items he wants, thinking of it as a reward for working hard.

Recently, more people like Choi are relieving stress caused by COVID-19 through 'revenge consumption.' Revenge consumption refers to somewhat indulgent spending for stress relief or mood improvement, even if the items are not strictly necessary. Especially since overseas travel has been virtually blocked due to COVID-19, the number of people engaging in such revenge consumption has recently increased.

The revenge consumption phenomenon can also be confirmed through statistics. According to a survey conducted by the job platform Saramin on 3,000 adult men and women about 'COVID revenge consumption,' 38.3% of respondents said they have experienced or are planning revenge consumption.

Among them, 46.3% of people in their 20s engaged in revenge consumption, nearly half, followed by 42.2% in their 30s, 31.4% in their 40s, and 18% in their 50s, showing that the younger the age group, the higher the rate of revenge consumption. Also, 'singles' (43.6%) were 15.4 percentage points higher than 'married' (28.2%).

Reference photo. / Photo by Yonhap News

The top reason for revenge consumption was 'trying to relieve deepening depression caused by COVID-19 through shopping' (55.5%, multiple responses allowed). Other reasons included 'developing a desire to purchase related products due to prolonged staying at home' (46.6%), 'mainly doing internet shopping during leisure time' (31.5%), 'easy access to untact (contactless) consumable goods' (31.5%), and 'having no place to spend money due to many things becoming impossible because of COVID-19' (16.1%).

Especially people in their 20s and 30s were not hesitant to purchase expensive luxury goods as part of revenge consumption. It is no exaggeration to say that the recent luxury market is led by the MZ generation (those born between 1980 and the early 2000s). At Shinsegae Department Store, the proportion of luxury sales by people in their 20s and 30s last year was 10.9% and 39.8%, respectively, totaling 50.7%. At Lotte Department Store, the share of luxury sales by people in their 20s and 30s increased from 38.1% in 2018 to 46% last year.

Lee, a worker in his 30s, said, "The only time I feel fun and happiness in my busy daily life is when I buy something I want or eat delicious food," adding, "It is most important to enjoy the present moment satisfactorily."

Experts analyze that the revenge consumption phenomenon among people in their 20s and 30s is a characteristic of the MZ generation. Professor Eunhee Lee of Inha University’s Department of Consumer Studies explained, "Revenge consumption is an outburst of suppressed desires or cravings, which also leads to luxury purchases. Especially people in their 20s and 30s are the main group who created the trend of so-called 'deunggol breaker' (backbreaker) padded jackets in the past. They are a generation sensitive to and interested in brands from a young age. They actively use social networking services (SNS) and the internet and care a lot about their own tastes and the image they show to others."

She continued, "There is also a social influence behind why people in their 20s and 30s engage in revenge consumption. Unlike in the past, saving money does not lead to buying a house, so there is a tendency to want to spend the money they earn hard on themselves now. Also, in the case of luxury goods, the 'resell' market has become active, so even if they buy expensive luxury items, they can resell them later, so it is not a loss. It seems they have this kind of thinking."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.