The Rise of Single-Person Households and Changes in Consumption Patterns

According to the dictionary, the definition of household is “a group of persons who realistically share the same residence and living space”. The household is not only a major economic subject along with the government and firm, but also an important consumer in the economy. Recently, a notable change in the household structure has been an increase in the number of single households. Single households are leading the change in the consumption structure as a new form of consumption subject in the market, which had been previously dominated by households consisting of multiple persons. Recently, single households have arisen as a new consumption subject along with a neologism “solo economy” and many customized products have been launched. Single households consume more than multi-person households as single households spend fixed costs for living and basic living essentials. Their lifestyles, which place emphasis on the individual, have an influence on specific items in the structure of consumption expenditure. Single households will have a great effect on the structure of consumption expenditure as their numbers continue to increase. Thus, this paper evaluates the development and outlook of the household structure and major factors that contribute to the increased number of single households and analyzes how the rising of single households will influence consumption expenditure