10 years ago, Chinese shoppers were considered the world’s top consumers of luxury goods. In fact, chartered flights flew from China to Paris and Milan, just to buy the western products from famous brands such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Prada.

Now, due to the economic crisis in China, young Gen Z Chinese are increasingly turning to more affordable alternatives, a trend that is becoming “the new mainstream.”

Zheng Jiewen, 23, who works full-time at an advertising agency in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou, describes the current state of consumption habits of young people in her country to CNN.

Zheng earned 30,000 yuan ($4,230) a month when she started working two years ago. But since last year, when new business at the company she worked for began to decline, her salary has gradually declined, culminating in a major cut in February that cut her income in half.

“I shockingly and immediately cut back on my spending to make ends meet with my new salary,” she told CNN. This means no more buying Louis Vuitton, Chanel or Prada, – her favorite brands.

Instead, these days, Zheng and her friends spend their increasingly limited funds on products called “pingti”, high-quality copies of brand-name products known – in English as “dupes” and in Greek… “monkeys”.

Some imitations are so perfect that they are practically indistinguishable from the original products, while others are inspired by the original design and offer more colors or textures.

The popularity of this product category is growing as consumer confidence in China nears an all-time low, analysts say.

That economic slowdown has caused social media searches for “pingti” products to triple from 2022 to 2024, said Laurel Gu, director of Shanghai-based market research firm Mintel.