BEIJING -- Chinese shoppers are increasingly buying luxury goods
in mainland China, turning away from high-end stores abroad and in
Hong Kong, a survey indicated Thursday.
The poll by market research firm Ipsos found that Chinese buyers
preferred to shop on the mainland for luxury goods in five of its
seven categories--watches, cosmetics, clothes, shoes, and wines and
cigars.
Last year, mainland Chinese preferred to buy top-end items
locally in only three categories.
The semi-autonomous, southern Chinese city of Hong Kong remains
their preferred destination only for jewelry and handbags, despite
higher taxes on luxury goods on the mainland.
Louis Vuitton was the respondents' top luxury brand, named by
39% of them, followed by Chanel on 17%. Seven% picked Gucci, Hermes
had 6% and Christian Dior 5%.
A total of 1,135 people on mainland China with annual incomes
higher than CNY100,000 ($15,900) were questioned last month for the
China Luxury Forecast, jointly carried out by Ipsos and PR firm
Ruder Finn Inc.
About 69% of luxury product buyers were under 35, while most
purchases were intended for women, according to the survey.
The poll also found that about 45% of respondents used social
media, including China's wildly popular Twitter-like microblogging
sites, to seek information on luxury products.