China set to consume almost half of world's luxury goods in 2013

Chinese consumers will spend 102 billion dollars on luxury items, both home and abroad, in 2013.

The Fortune Character Research Center said that the consumption is almost 47 percent of annual global luxury product sales.

According to China Daily, sales in the domestic luxury market are expected to hit 28 billion dollars in 2013, with a 3-percent year-on-year rise.

It is also equivalent to over 74 billion dollars that will be spent overseas, the institute said in its annual report on luxury sales.

But China's luxury market also has challenges, as the main driving force of the market is new consumers and stores.

The increasing presence of luxury brands in smaller Chinese cities lured more Chinese residents to shop overseas, the report added.