Chinese mainland luxury goods consumer confidence rebounds: report

(ECNS) -- The Chinese mainland has seen rapid economic recovery and rebounding consumer conferences, and the luxury goods market is expected to recover within this year, according to the China Luxury Forecast 2023 jointly presented by Ruder Finn and Consumer Search Group on Wednesday.

The data indicate that 52 percent of respondents in the Chinese mainland expect to increase spending on luxury goods, surpassing pre-pandemic levels in 2020, which was 44 percent. The proportion of respondents who expect to decrease spending on luxury goods has fallen to 10 percent, the same as that in 2020. Chinese mainland respondents plan to spend more in most categories, with the most significant increases in willingness to spend in clothing (53 percent), luxury travel (52 percent), and high-end dining (48 percent).

An earlier report released by Yaok Group, a professional research and consulting institution, revealed this trend as well.

The report pointed out that in 2022, online transactions in the Chinese luxury goods market continued to grow rapidly, with more offline consumption shifting to online. In 2022, international luxury brands' online transactions in China saw a high-speed growth of 31 percent, reaching 220 billion yuan ($32.17 billion). With a 31 percent decrease in offline transactions in China's luxury goods market, the proportion of luxury brands' online transactions in China still reached a record-breaking 40 percent.

The China Luxury Forecast 2023 finds more consumers are willing to choose Chinese brands thanks to a rising sense of national pride among consumers.

Besides maintaining an advantage in cost-effectiveness, Chinese brands have also received generally positive evaluations in brand history and story, craftsmanship, and elegance.

Eighteen percent of Chinese mainland respondents prefer Chinese brands when purchasing high-end watches, second only to Swiss brands. Among them, 27 percent of "Z generation" respondents tend to choose Chinese brands.

Meanwhile, many international brands have incorporated Chinese elements into their products to appeal to the Chinese market.