Study on Symbolic Consumption in Guangzhou’s Nighttime Economy

Abstract

As e-commerce has revolutionized the habits and methods of mass consumption, the reliance of the real economy on the Internet for advertising and marketing has become more and more pronounced, and this phenomenon has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many municipal governments in China have introduced policies to encourage the development of nighttime economy as an important means to revive urban vitality, stimulate mass consumption and promote economic development. This essay takes four established nighttime economy gathering places in Guangzhou as examples, and studies the symbolic consumption process in them from the theoretical perspectives of cultural economy, leisure economy, symbolic economy and cultural capital, thus pointing out the problems of cultural change and cultural vulgarization in the nighttime economy neighborhoods and giving constructive solutions and suggestions for improvement.