earticle

영어

Digital finance is increasingly acknowledged for spurring consumer demand and facilitating shared prosperity among diverse groups. Nevertheless, there is still a conspicuous research void regarding its impact on young and middle-aged populations, who constitute the core consumers in the current digital economy. To fill this gap, this paper attempts to conduct an empirical test based on the survey data on digital finance usage and consumption status among young and middle-aged people in Zhejiang Province, a major province in the digital economy. It comprehensively employs methods such as structural equation modeling, mediation effect testing, and multi-group analysis to investigate the influence relationship and internal mechanism of digital finance on the consumption behavior of young and middle-aged groups. Additionally, this study explores the mediating role of emerging consumption concepts in shaping these effects. The research findings disclose four key points: (1) Digital payment, credit, insurance, and investment have significantly promoted the consumption of young and middle-aged people, especially digital credit, which has optimized the consumption structure. (2) Different consumption paradigms mediate the influence of digital finance on consumption behavior, such as the latte consumption concept, excessive consumption concept, and intelligent consumption concept. (3) Digital payment and credit mainly enhance the consumption level of the young, while investment and insurance have a greater impact on the middle-aged group. (4) Digital finance has a more significant impact on consumption in rural and less economically developed areas, especially digital credit. The research of this paper enriches the theoretical research on digital finance and consumption behavior and provides theoretical basis and policy suggestions for the optimization and upgrading of China's consumption structure as well as the formulation and improvement of consumption policies.