A group of Chinese tourists stand with shopping bags at the Canal City Hakata commercial complex in Fukuoka, Japan, on Friday, July 24, 2015. Four million Chinese tourists are expected to head to Japan this year. Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Chinese tourists are starting to spend more on experiences rather than on things. As luxury brands and retailers globally gear up for millions of tourists during China's upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, a survey released Thursday indicated that consumers in the world's second-largest economy are no longer as eager to simply shop. Rather, they are more interested in sightseeing, entertainment and food. The amount that Chinese tourists spent on shopping fell to less than a third of the overall trip budget, or 32 percent, in 2018, consultancy Oliver Wyman found in its latest study of outbound Chinese travel. That's compared to 41 percent of the total trip budget in 2016, the report showed. The average amount spent on shopping also declined to 5,800 yuan ($855) last year, from 8,000 yuan in 2016, the report said, citing a recent survey of 2,000 Chinese traveling overseas. For the first time in the survey's brief history, less than half of the respondents named shopping as one of their top three reasons for going abroad.

In contrast, food and beverage, sightseeing and entertainment increased their share of the trip budget, according to Hunter Williams, partner at Oliver Wyman. "(There's) a greater openness and willingness to try local experiences," Williams said in an interview with CNBC. "It just changes so fast in China and (businesses need to) be prepared for these changes." A slowdown in China's economy and pressures from trade tensions with the U.S. have raised concerns about the propensity of the Chinese consumer to spend. Retail sales growth slowed last year, and auto sales declined for the first time in years, according to official data. Earlier this month, Apple also cut its revenue expectations, citing "economic deceleration" in Greater China. However, analysts have noted the iPhone maker also faces other challenges such as increased competition from local Chinese smartphone manufacturers. In the last few months, fashion brands Burberry, and Dolce and Gabbana have also come under fire from Chinese social media users for controversial advertisements.

Mobile payments in China

Overseas businesses may also need to adapt to Chinese mobile pay, which is part of daily life domestically. A report co-issued by Nielsen and Alibaba-affiliated Alipay on Monday said more than two-thirds of Chinese tourists said they used their smartphones to pay abroad in 2018. Of merchants who responded to the survey, 56 percent said sales improved after adopting Alipay.