Well-heeled Chinese shoppers have been visiting Dior and Burberry stores in New York, Paris and London for years.

 

A May report by Boston Consulting Group said that while Chinese consumers are still shopping, given the shaky economic outlook, they’ve become “more sophisticated with bargain-hunting.” Combined with a population that is traveling overseas in greater numbers than ever before, retailers and mall operators say they’re seeing a shift to the lower-priced merchandise that most outlets specialize in.

 

"In the past 24 months, the Chinese have become very dominant,” said Scott Malkin, chief executive at Value Retail, whose nine outlet malls in Europe carry brands such as Gucci, Prada, Versace and Hugo Boss.

 

The number of shoppers from China rose 49% during the first three months of 2013, compared with the same period a year earlier, and exceed the number of shoppers from Russia and the Middle East. Chinese shoppers now make up a third of tax-refunded sales for international tourists, Value Retail said, up from just 18% five years ago. They’re big spenders too: Chinese shoppers, on average, splurged €347 (about $455) at the outlets, the company said, 12% more than the average shopper. Five years ago, Chinese shoppers spent just €254, or 9% below the average spend.

 

"Chinese consumers will take a picture with a smartphone in the store, send it back to a friend in Beijing or Shanghai and get a message back and say ‘yes, that’s the item,’” said Mr. Malkin of Chinese shopping habits. “It’s real-time communication.”

 

In the U.S., outlet malls are seeing a similar uptick. Ann Ackerman, marketing director at AWE Talisman, said the company’s outlet malls near Las Vegas, Niagara Falls and other locations were visited by more than 140,000 Chinese tourists in the first half of 2013 alone, compared with 106,000 all of last year. She estimated that the shoppers, who often arrive by the busload, spend 50% more than their counterparts from other countries.