Abstract
The household life cycle model has proven in the U.S. to be a useful managerial tool for explaining variations in consumption patterns and in segmenting consumers. The objective of this study is to explore the application of the household life cycle concept to the urban Chinese consumer market. Using a representative sample of 330 households from an urban area of China, popular household models that were developed in the U.S. are tested for use in China. The U.S. models are found inadequate to classify Chinese households. A redefined household life cycle model is proposed that is more appropriate for grouping the Chinese households and is found to empirically differentiate patterns of consumption among the household categories. Future applications for the household life cycle concept in China are discussed.