Year-ender: New trends in Chinese consumption in 2021

Virtual idols

Virtual idols are gaining a lot of popularity these days, especially among the 25 to 30 crowd in China.

Virtual influencers might not be real humans, but they do have unique personalities. They mainly interact with their fans through online performances and concerts.

For instance, China's most famous virtual singer Luo Tianyi now has 5.13 million fans on Weibo. Tickets to her concerts can cost up to 1,580 yuan ($242) each. Her popularity has led many companies to make endorsement deals with her.

According to a report by market consultancy group iiMedia, the market size for virtual idols hit 6.22 billion yuan ($976 million) in China in 2021, up nearly 80 percent year-on-year. The market is expected to expand to 20 billion yuan over the next two years.

"As virtual interactions and events turn into key communication channels among pandemic-wary consumers, virtual humans or virtual idols have injected new impetus into the entertainment industry," said Yang Qiguang, a mass communications lecturer at Renmin University of China.