Liu Wanyi turned on her laptop as soon as she got up on Sunday morning. After playing a game, she chatted with friends and shopped online as she ate breakfast. At lunchtime, she had a pizza delivered.

"It's too hot to go outside. Fortunately, online stores have all kinds of products, and they can deliver directly to my home," said the 29-year-old advertising executive. "It's more comfortable and convenient to stay at home and be a zhai person (homebody)."

Liu is not the only one to think so.

According to a survey report released on June 29, almost half of 89,381 respondents polled in 46 cities said they prefer to stay at home when they're not at work.

The report was compiled by the media agency MEC, and WebInsight, an Internet data analysis company, in cooperation with Fudan University's journalism and communication center.

"With more urban Chinese becoming zhai, more of the consumption that usually took place outside is being moved inside the home," Christian Guinot, president of MEC China, said in the report. "This will strongly affect market structure and brands."

Li Chunhui, 27, an online game company employee, says the workload and pressures of her job are huge and being zhai helps her to relax.

"I have bought almost everything online," she said, including the household appliances, furniture and even the doors and window frames in her newly decorated apartment.

"I love online shopping because I can easily compare prices at all the stores and pick up the cheapest and best products. And I can shop whenever I want," she said. "I hope someday I'll be able to buy groceries online so I won't have to go to the supermarket anymore."

Huang Yixuan, 38, is another big fan of online shopping. "Shopping malls usually close at 10pm, but online stores are open 24 hours a day," he said. "I can make myself a nice cup of coffee and enjoy the leisure of shopping, even late at night."

According to the survey report, the top reason people choose to be zhai is to enjoy the comfort of home. Most see home as a shelter from the fast pace of urban life and think they can be themselves there.

The widespread availability in cities of broadband Internet provides zhai a richer and more convenient life, according to the report. People can access reams of information and communicate with friends online. Many find that the abundance of online entertainment — shopping, movies and games — makes life seem more colorful at home than outdoors.

Respondents also named other factors, such as bad weather and food safety, as reasons they prefer to stay at home, according to the report. Some zhai also see their lives as low-carbon and green.

Contrary to expectations, zhai spend more — 878 yuan ($140) a year — than the average consumer who leaves home to shop.

China Youth Daily reported on July 19 that the number of people shopping online for fresh fruit increased by 200 percent in Shanghai this summer compared with last. The city is reported to have the biggest number of online consumers of fruit: almost 20,000 people placed 30,000 orders within a week.

Lu Weiyu, MEC China director of strategic planning, said the zhai group has become an economic phenomenon and advised that brands must "learn how to communicate with them directly".

Products that can help zhai live better at home will be popular in this group, such as coffee machines that offer gourmet coffee comparable to Starbucks', or 3-D home movie theaters, she added.

zhiyun@chinadaily.com.cn