Middle-Class Consumption Transformation in Economic Downturns: Evidence from East Asia

Yanran Sun ()
Additional contact information
Yanran Sun: University of Toronto

A chapter in Proceedings of the 2025 International Conference on Hybrid Commerce, Human Capital, and Economic Dynamics (ICHCH 2025), 2026, pp 550-559 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract The shift from department stores to discount platforms, from luxury brands to livestream promotions, indicates that economic uncertainty has reshaped the consumption behavior in East Asia. While prior studies have addressed either macroeconomic trends or consumer psychology, few have explored how structural economic insecurity and identity crisis jointly shape middle-class consumption patterns. This study explores the behavioral shift from identity-based to functional and emotionally supportive consumption among the middle class in China, Japan, and South Korea. Adopting a combined research methods approach primarily based on secondary literature, theoretical analysis, and comparative case studies, the study reveals that consumption downgrading is not merely a cyclical adjustment, but a structural transformation entrenched in multidimensional distress from social, economic, and psychological dimensions. Moreover, it identifies a paradoxical coexistence of conservative financial behavior and emotion-oriented consumption. The insights suggest that under constrained resources, middle-class consumers are redefining the good life and shifting their consumption priorities rather than exiting from the market, signaling a coping strategy in response to economic and psychological stressors.

Keywords: East Asia Study; Middle Class; Consumption Behavior; Economic Insecurity; Emotional Coping (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:advbcp:978-2-38476-585-0_61

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9782384765850

DOI: 10.2991/978-2-38476-585-0_61

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().