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Households have been getting smaller in the United States (and Europe) for years, including more single-person households.
Shrinkage
As households get smaller, new forms of connection and consumption are emerging. Are you ready to hug your robot friend?
The lonely economy
In this edition:
A quick briefing in five—
or a fifty-minute deeper dive
Pets ahoy
One result: pet ownership is up across Asia.
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Size small
Now, households are shrinking in Asia, too— driven by lower fertility rates, delayed marriage, and fewer extended families living together.
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My robot friend
Another result: new, technology-based forms of connection are emerging.
Responding to the great acceleration requires companies to experiment with and invest in new digital technologies.
Segment of one
Now that Asian consumers are more on their own, they expect higher levels of personalization—and they’re willing to share data with companies to get it.
Average number of people per household, US
0
1
2
3
4
1960
1980
2000
2020
Average
household
size, number
of people
Reference period (1997–2005)
Most recent (2014–19)
Indonesia
India
China
Bangladesh
Vietnam
Japan
South Korea
40
0
10
20
30
Single-person households, %
1
2
3
4
5
6
Household demographics in Asia
Increase in pet ownership, 2015–20, %
China
Thailand
Singapore
114
23
12
Chatbot
Xiaoice released an empathetic chatbot that has 660 million users and 450 million third-party smart devices globally.
LOVOT
The Japanese companion robot LOVOT keeps its body temperature close to that of the human body (around 37 degrees Celsius) and asks for hugs. Demand for LOVOT surged more than 15-fold in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Digital world
Physical world
Physical world
Companies can engage physical-world consumers through personalized experiences in stores, limited editions of certain products, and bespoke personal-care products, such as Amorepacific’s 3-D hydrogel mask, which is customized for an individual’s facial dimensions and skin conditions.
Physical world
Digital world
Since digital consumers in Asia expect nearly every aspect of their digital journey to be personalized, including interactions, communications, and offers, companies need digital and analytics skills to ensure access to the right data and the ability to use it for personalization.
Digital world
Average number of people per household in the United States from 1960 to 2020
Statista
Dive deeper
Meet your future Asian consumer
Article
Dive deeper
Beyond income: Redrawing Asia’s consumer map
Discussion paper – McKinsey Global Institute
Dive deeper
Beyond income: Redrawing Asia’s consumer map
Discussion paper – McKinsey Global Institute
Dive deeper
The trailblazing consumers in Asia propelling growth
Article – McKinsey Global Institute
Dive deeper
Average number of people per household in the United States from 1960 to 2020
Statista
Meet your future Asian consumer
Article
Beyond income: Redrawing Asia’s
consumer map
Discussion paper – McKinsey Global Institute
The trailblazing consumers in Asia
propelling growth
Article – McKinsey Global Institute