If someone told you a decade ago that people would pay strangers to hike with them, share a hotpot meal, accompany them on holiday, or simply spend time chatting, you might have thought it sounded bizarre.
Today, it’s a fast-growing business.
Across China, consumers are increasingly paying for companionship services. Some hire hiking partners to climb famous mountains. Others pay for travel companions, dining companions, fitness partners, or someone to accompany them to social events.
What may appear at first glance to be a quirky social trend is actually part of a much larger economic story.
The rise of China’s companionship economy reflects a growing willingness among consumers to spend money on emotional fulfilment, social connection, and shared experiences. Estimates suggest the sector reached roughly 50 billion yuan (S$9.5 billion) in 2025.
But China isn’t the first country where this phenomenon has emerged.
Japan has spent decades building industries around paid companionship, rental friends, rental family members, host clubs, and various forms of emotional support services. In many ways, Japan provides a glimpse into what the future could look like for other ageing and increasingly urbanised societies.
For investors, that makes the companionship economy more than just a social curiosity. It may offer important clues about where consumer spending is headed in the years ahead.
Let’s explore why this trend matters and what lessons retail investors can take from it.
What Exactly Is the Companionship Economy?
The companionship economy refers to services where people pay for social interaction, emotional support, shared experiences, or simply the presence of another person.
Unlike traditional services, customers are not primarily purchasing a physical product.
Instead, they’re buying:
- Conversation
- Company
- Emotional support
- Convenience
- Shared experiences
- Social confidence
In China, examples include:
- Hiking companions
- Travel companions
- Hotpot companions
- Study companions
- Fitness partners
- Photography companions
Providers are often students, freelancers, or gig workers who advertise their services online.
For many customers, the value isn’t practical assistance. It’s having someone there.
That alone is worth paying for.
Why China’s Companionship Economy Is Growing So Quickly
Several social and economic forces are driving demand.
Young professionals are increasingly moving away from their hometowns.
Many work long hours.
Traditional social circles are becoming harder to maintain.
Building new friendships can take time and emotional energy.
At the same time, people are becoming more comfortable purchasing services that solve personal and lifestyle challenges.
Ordering food, booking transport, hiring cleaners, and finding tutors can all be done through an app.
Companionship is becoming another service category that can be accessed on demand.
There is also a psychological factor.
Making new friends carries uncertainty.
Someone may reject your invitation or fail to meet expectations.
A paid companion eliminates much of that uncertainty.
The service is straightforward.
The expectations are clear.
The outcome is predictable.
In an increasingly busy world, many consumers find that appealing.
Japan Saw This Trend Decades Earlier
While China’s companionship economy has attracted attention recently, Japan arguably pioneered many of these ideas.
For years, Japan has seen the growth of:
- Rental friend services
- Rental family services
- Companion services for elderly individuals
- Host and hostess clubs
- Social escort services for events and gatherings
Japan’s experience offers an important lesson.
The companionship economy wasn’t a short-lived fad.
It emerged alongside deeper demographic and social changes.
These included:
- An ageing population
- Declining birth rates
- Increasing numbers of single-person households
- Delayed marriage
- Urbanisation
- Social isolation
Sound familiar?
Many of these same trends are now appearing across China, Singapore, South Korea, and other developed Asian economies.
Japan demonstrates that emotional spending can become a durable and recurring category of consumer expenditure rather than a temporary trend.
The Rise of Emotional Consumption
The companionship economy sits within a broader phenomenon often called emotional consumption.
Traditionally, spending focused on practical needs.
Consumers bought products to solve problems.
Today’s consumers increasingly purchase products and services that satisfy emotional needs.
People spend money to:
- Feel connected
- Feel valued
- Feel entertained
- Feel understood
- Feel part of a community
This trend extends far beyond companionship services.
Consider some examples that Singaporeans encounter every day.
A premium gym membership isn’t just about exercise.
Members often stay because of the community and friendships.
A speciality coffee shop isn’t simply selling coffee.
It offers atmosphere, belonging, and social identity.
A travel experience isn’t just transportation and accommodation.
It’s about memories and shared experiences.
The emotional outcome often matters more than the underlying product.
Why Loneliness Is Becoming an Economic Force
One of the most overlooked consumer trends globally is loneliness.
Studies across multiple countries show increasing levels of social isolation, particularly among urban populations.
People are living alone for longer periods.
Marriage rates are falling in many developed economies.
Remote work can reduce social interaction.
Family sizes are shrinking.
Historically, social support came from family, neighbours, religious communities, or long-term friendships.
Many of those support systems have weakened.
Markets tend to emerge wherever unmet demand exists.
The companionship economy is effectively monetising a need that was previously fulfilled through informal social relationships.
That may sound uncomfortable to some observers.
But from an economic perspective, it is simply another example of markets adapting to changing consumer needs.
What This Means for Singapore
Singapore shares several characteristics with both China and Japan.
The country has:
- A highly urbanised population
- A growing number of single-person households
- Long working hours
- Low fertility rates
- An ageing population
While Singapore’s companionship economy remains relatively small compared to China or Japan, many adjacent trends are already visible.
Examples include:
- Community-driven fitness groups
- Paid networking communities
- Premium hobby clubs
- Interest-based membership groups
- Wellness communities
- Group travel experiences
These businesses are succeeding because they offer more than functional value.
They provide connection.
As demographic trends evolve, demand for emotionally enriching experiences may continue growing.
Investment Insight #1: Emotional Spending Is Becoming a Major Consumer Category
The first lesson for investors is that emotional spending is becoming increasingly important.
Historically, analysts tracked categories such as retail, housing, healthcare, and transportation.
Today, consumers are allocating growing portions of their budgets toward emotional fulfilment.
This includes:
- Wellness services
- Community memberships
- Social experiences
- Gaming communities
- Lifestyle subscriptions
- Companion services
Japan’s experience suggests this trend can persist for decades.
As societies become wealthier, consumers often shift spending from necessities toward experiences and emotional outcomes.
Investors who recognise this shift early may identify businesses that benefit from long-term behavioural changes rather than short-term economic cycles.
Investment Insight #2: Experiences Are Winning Against Physical Goods
One of the clearest themes emerging across Asia is the growing preference for experiences over possessions.
Consumers increasingly value:
- Travel experiences
- Events
- Learning opportunities
- Social activities
- Community engagement
The companionship economy is an extreme example of this trend.
The customer isn’t purchasing a tangible product.
The entire purchase revolves around an experience.
Japan provides evidence that this preference can remain strong even during periods of slow economic growth.
Consumers may cut back on luxury products while continuing to spend on experiences that improve quality of life.
For investors, sectors that facilitate experiences may enjoy stronger long-term demand than those focused solely on physical products.
Investment Insight #3: Human Connection May Become More Valuable in the AI Era
Perhaps the most surprising lesson concerns artificial intelligence.
Many investors assume AI will eventually replace large numbers of service jobs.
That may be true for certain tasks.
But the companionship economy highlights something AI cannot easily replicate.
Genuine human interaction.
As technology automates more routine activities, uniquely human qualities may become increasingly valuable.
These include:
- Empathy
- Conversation
- Emotional intelligence
- Personal connection
- Shared experiences
Ironically, the more digital our lives become, the more valuable authentic human interaction may become.
Japan’s long-standing companionship services and China’s rapidly growing market both support this idea.
For investors, this could create opportunities in businesses built around community, relationships, and human-centred experiences.
The Bigger Picture: A New Consumer Economy Is Emerging
The companionship economy isn’t really about hiring someone to eat hotpot with you.
It’s about a broader shift in how consumers define value.
For decades, businesses competed by offering better products.
Today, many successful businesses compete by offering better experiences.
Tomorrow, they may compete by offering stronger emotional connections.
China’s companionship economy provides a glimpse into that future.
Japan’s experience suggests the trend may prove surprisingly durable.
Together, they show how social and demographic changes can create entirely new categories of consumer spending.
Final Thoughts
At first glance, paying someone to accompany you on a hike or share a meal may seem unusual.
But viewed through an investor’s lens, the companionship economy tells a much bigger story.
China’s rapidly growing market and Japan’s decades-long experience both point toward the same conclusion: emotional needs are becoming increasingly important drivers of consumer spending.
For investors, three key lessons stand out:
- Emotional spending is becoming a major consumer category.
- Experiences continue to outperform purely product-based consumption.
- Human connection may become more valuable—not less—in an increasingly AI-driven world.
The companionship economy may still be in its early stages in many countries, but the forces driving it are unlikely to disappear anytime soon.
And as history often shows, understanding changing consumer behaviour is one of the best ways to identify tomorrow’s investment opportunities.