New Delhi, April 11 -- China's next consumer push is getting more personal.

For years, Beijing's efforts to revive spending focused on familiar big-ticket categories like cars and appliances. Now officials are signaling something different. A recent policy plan to boost consumption is promoting "interest-based" spending in categories including pets, anime, and trendy toys. It's part of a broader shift toward building new demand engines as exports and investments lose some of their punch.

That matters because it suggests China is no longer just trying to get households to spend more. It is trying to channel spending into lifestyle categories that are repeatable, emotionally resonant, and easier to scale through branding, intellectual pro...