Chinese consumers are becoming more price conscious, less brand-loyal and generally harder to please, according to a McKinsey survey that warns of increasing competitive pressures in the Chinese consumer goods market.

The report comes at a time when many multinational companies are counting on strong Chinese domestic demand to make up for global economic weakness. Last month, retail sales in China grew by 23 per cent year-on-year and consumer activity remains “buoyant”, despite signs of a slowdown in sales of some items such as cars, says Jing Ulrich of JPMorgan Securities. But consumer goods companies will have to work harder to satisfy “increasingly discerning and sophisticated” Chinese consumers, the report says. “This is not an easy market,” says Max Magni of McKinsey in Shanghai, one of the authors. China is still a gold mine, but now there are thousands and thousands of miners that have discovered it.”

The conventional wisdom that Chinese consumers are more brand-driven than shoppers in more developed markets remains true. “But the importance of brands, and brand loyalty specifically, is falling as the choices facing consumers multiply,” the report said.