Retail research firm Conlumino projects China’s retail sector will surge 90 per cent by 2018.

According to the firm, shopper spending will hit £3.513 billion ($5.9 billion) by 2018 as urban middle class booms. 

The biggest winner will be the fashion sector, it says, as spending on apparel doubles over the next three years.

“The growth of the internet and social media have generated global fashion trends and this has made it far easier for international fashion brands to expand,” said global research director Maureen Hinton.

“Where once fashion tended to be local this is no longer the case, but brands have to stand out whatever the market they are in to persuade consumers to buy.”