Men unleash 'dopamine economy'

If there is such a thing as belt-loosening, male consumers in China are embracing it, spending happily, without any guilt or restraint, on what drives them — and last week's Singles Day shopping festival, or 11-11, has provided them just such an occasion, the latest market data showed.

Gaming, cycling and trendy toys are in. So are clothing, alcohol, skin care, fishing gear, tea sets, running and boxing products, according to Tmall, Alibaba's online marketplace for established brands. Some call this the "he-economy". Marketers call this the "dopamine economy".

A neurotransmitter in the brain, dopamine acts as a "reward center", including motivation, mood, attention, memory, movement and more. Male consumers, encouraged by marketing blitzes, are beginning to see virtue in rewarding themselves once in a while, retail experts said, after digesting Tmall data gathered between Oct 31 and Nov 5.