Hong Kong's south China morning post website published on August 10, titled "the army composed of young women" little sister "is driving China's consumption growth," the article said, a nicknamed "little sister" young women force is fast becoming China's consumption, made from beer, white wine to streaming media television programs and cosmetics industries enterprise wealth growth. Now the article is compiled as follows:

They are well educated, delaying or giving up marriage and having children, which gives them more money and confidence to spend. At the same time, these "little sisters" see themselves reflected in popular TV shows, such as this summer's hit variety show "Sister Riding the Wave," which encourages them to relax their restrictions and spend freely on themselves. As a result, "little sister" is becoming an increasingly important component of female consumers in China, who account for three-quarters of all age groups in the world's most populous country, according to a report released by Frost & Sullivan.

Liu Ming, a strategist at UBS in Hong Kong, recently released a report describing the so-called "little sister" economy. "Urban women between the ages of 20 and 40 who are highly educated have recently become popular subjects in TV dramas and variety shows on the Chinese mainland. Overall, their growing disposable income and desire for a 'good life' has had a significant impact on cosmetics, tax-free goods, healthcare (beauty), mobile game and Internet content. More importantly, the 'little sister' economy may affect the consumption of families and children, involving everything from e-commerce to entertainment."

Ubs and HSBC holdings say these "little sisters" will drive a boom in everything from cosmetics and sports and leisure products to food, drink and home appliances.

"Women are working more and more, having a greater say in household spending decisions and spending more money on themselves," said Hilde Vander Lind, head of equity strategy at HSBC in Hong Kong. Clearly, women are becoming very important consumers."

Their strength is believed to be at least part of the reason for the soaring share prices of companies such as Perea Cosmetics, which have risen 110 per cent since the start of the year, while China Travel Group China Duty-free, the country's largest operator of duty-free shops, is up 148 per cent.

And it's not just in niche areas like cosmetics that have traditionally been dominated by women.

Women account for 60 per cent of China's Rmb4.6tn catering market, while their beer consumption jumped 27 per cent in July from a year earlier, according to Wanlian Securities.

They even like baijiu, which has long been a male-dominated area of consumption. On alibaba group's e-commerce platform Tmall's mid-year promotion day in June, women accounted for up to 30% of buyers of kweichow moutai's high-end flagship products, up 12% from a year earlier.

According to HSBC, changes in behaviour are leading to higher pay and more decision-making power for women. According to HSBC, a Chinese family has an average of 3.03 people, 2.78 in rich provinces and 3.1 in developing regions. Japan has the lowest average household size in Asia, at 2.33.

"That means more income per household and fewer family members, so consumers are wealthier and can buy more expensive items, from beer to sportswear," van der Lind said. This is especially true in China as the number of 'empty-nesters' with money to spend -- their adult children living elsewhere -- increases."

The growing power of female consumers comes as China tries to shake off the turmoil caused by coVID-19. Retail sales shrank for a fifth straight month in June amid cinema restrictions, despite the economy turning from negative to positive in the second quarter.

Orient Securities said the government's recent relaxation of restrictions on the application of tax exemption licenses, which makes luxury goods more affordable and thus more affordable, will further stimulate women's consumption. Sales at duty-free stores in Hainan surged nearly 150 per cent in May, according to Orient Securities.

"Women are playing multiple roles in social life, and they are also major consumers in pursuit of better brands, designs, experiences, services and even environmental protection," jd said in a report. "Women are playing an increasingly important role in the consumption upgrade process."