Imported items in a store (Chinanews.com)

Instead of buying luxury watches and fancy jewelry in downtown Paris, Wang Wei, a tourist from central China’s Hubei province, bought oil paintings and an iron pan from a local flea market.

Like Wang, many Chinese tourists have shortened their must-buy lists when they travel abroad.

The change in shopping habits of Chinese consumers has provided an opportunity for domestic brands to grasp a larger share of the consumer market, banyuetan.org reported on April 10.

In the past, Chinese tourists liked to buy luxury products, fancy bags and watches in Germany, but now they prefer to shop at chain and department stores, said Zhang Yuhong, general manager of the China International Travel Service German company.

The number of people purchasing luxury brands in Italy has witnessed a noticeable drop this year, according to an Italian tourism company. An average of two million Chinese tourists visit Italy each year, accounting for 30 percent of the country’s duty-free sales.

Though Chinese consumers still think foreign products are reliable and trustworthy, their changing shopping habits pose an opportunity for domestic brands.

Experts have suggested that domestic manufacturers should strengthen marketing skills, improve services, and pay more attention to detail when developing their products.

To enhance the image of domestic brands, industry supervisors should set up a company credit evaluation system under which manufacturers with dishonest behaviors face punishment, said Song Yaoming, minister of the Economic and Commercial Office at the Chinese embassy in Japan.