Chinese Buying More Luxury Goods at Home

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.