Foreign vacationers savor bowls of ‘pho’ on the Pho Day 2025 occasion in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre
Therefore, the core query is just not whether or not way of life financial system needs to be developed, however the way it needs to be formed so that folks can perceive it, participate in it, and genuinely profit from it.
In financial analysis and shopper conduct research, way of life financial system has not but been formalized as an impartial tutorial time period.
Instead, students usually method it by way of the lenses of way of life economics and expertise financial system.
These views argue that financial worth is more and more generated not merely from services or products, however from deliberate way of life decisions and experiences that customers are keen to pay for.
Stripped of jargon, way of life financial system might be understood in quite simple phrases: it’s an financial system that creates worth by serving to folks stay extra conveniently, extra healthily, extra joyfully, and with a stronger sense of identification of their every day lives.
Lifestyle is just not about luxurious.
It is about how folks eat lunch, commute to work, spend weekends, maintain their well being, be taught new abilities, or organize their dwelling areas.
When these on a regular basis actions are higher organized, extra considerate, and emotionally rewarding, they generate financial worth.
In different phrases, way of life financial system doesn’t start with what’s ‘high-end,’ however with what makes folks really feel that dwelling right here remains to be comfy, nonetheless satisfying, and nonetheless price committing to.
Misconception: way of life as ‘upmarket’
In Ho Chi Minh City, the phrase ‘lifestyle’ is usually instantly related to branded actual property, upscale purchasing malls, or costly experiences.
This understanding is just not completely flawed, however it’s far too slim.
No metropolis can construct a brand new development engine based mostly solely on the high-end section.
In actuality, even at middle-income ranges, shopper conduct has modified considerably.
Surveys in Vietnam present that eight out of 10 customers see spending on experiences equivalent to leisure, eating, studying, and healthcare as important wants somewhat than luxurious bills.
Notably, 67 % of respondents mentioned they prioritize spending extra on training and well being than on fundamental dwelling prices, clearly reflecting an city pattern of spending to stay higher.
This demonstrates that way of life financial system isn’t just a narrative for the rich.
It is an actual demand of the city center class and dealing inhabitants.
If way of life financial system fails to succeed in these teams, it should stay a marginal pattern, incapable of changing into a real city development driver.
3 layers of way of life financial system for Ho Chi Minh City
To keep away from going off monitor, Ho Chi Minh City must method way of life financial system by way of three distinct layers, similar to completely different ranges of participation by residents and companies.
The first layer is prime way of life that makes on a regular basis life extra bearable and nice.
This is an important layer, but additionally probably the most missed.
A elementary way of life is just not about costly consumption, however about minimal high quality of life: much less irritating commuting, clear and protected public areas, and handy entry to fundamental wants.
Residents can take part by way of small modifications, equivalent to extra conscious consumption and decisions that save time and psychological vitality.
For city administration, this layer requires consistency in seemingly mundane particulars. Only when the muse is strong can larger types of way of life develop.
The second layer is inexpensive way of life: small however common experiences.
This is the fastest-growing layer in Ho Chi Minh City, seen in short-term courses, workshops, small health areas, cafés, studying rooms, and group inexperienced areas.
These fashions share a standard trait: comparatively low price, but robust potential for psychological and emotional renewal.
People don’t have to ‘live lavishly,’ however they want moments to decelerate and regain management of their time.
For small companies and start-ups, this layer affords fertile floor to compete by way of expertise high quality and subtlety, somewhat than scale or heavy capital.
The third layer is distinctive way of life.
Lifestyle turns into a strategic benefit solely when it carries city identification.
Ho Chi Minh City has its personal traits equivalent to dynamism, openness, cultural fusion, vibrant road life, and a powerful entrepreneurial spirit.
If these qualities are translated into merchandise, providers, and dwelling areas with constant high quality, town can develop a life-style financial system that’s unmistakably its personal.
This is just not the work of a single firm, however of a whole ecosystem.
An inseparable pattern in way of life financial system is sustainable dwelling.
Ho Chi Minh City ought to start with very abnormal behaviors, together with shopping for much less however utilizing longer, decreasing single-use objects, and saving vitality.
When sustainable consumption turns into ordinary, it each eases family spending pressures and naturally opens up new markets for companies.
Enhancing city life high quality
Seen this fashion, way of life is just not an financial pillar, however the metropolis’s ‘spiritual layer.’
It should be acknowledged frankly that way of life financial system can not substitute core pillars equivalent to know-how, logistics, finance, or manufacturing.
A serious metropolis can not survive on cafés, workshops, or emotional experiences alone.
However, a metropolis constructed solely on laborious pillars, with out way of life, turns into inflexible, struggles to retain expertise, and lacks long-term attraction.
Lifestyle doesn’t make a metropolis stronger, however it provides town a soul, a character, and a way of livability.
Lifestyle financial system not solely beautifies Ho Chi Minh City, but additionally creates sustainable development momentum, rooted within the on a regular basis lives of town’s residents.
Understanding way of life financial system to remain on target
Globally, the shift from materials consumption to experiential consumption has shaped a transparent financial present.
The world expertise financial system was estimated at round US$778 billion in 2024 and is projected to surpass $1.2 trillion by 2035, with regular development of about 4 % per 12 months.
These figures present that experiences and life are now not fringe developments, however key elements of recent city financial development.
However, if way of life is just not correctly outlined and appropriately positioned, it may well simply be lowered to a story of luxurious initiatives, expensive experiences, or a ‘stage’ for a privileged few.