Louis Vuitton was seen as the most preferred brand for gifts from men, as 13.9 percent of interviewees showed preference for it.

Chanel was voted the best brand for gifts from women, taking 15.9 percent of the female vote.

The fashion brand Burberry was the United Kingdom name to make the Top10 this year.

And Gucci and Montblanc also performed well, both making into the Top 10 for the first time.

Despite tougher economic conditions this year, it appears that the amounts being spent are still eye-watering to the average consumers.

Yu Kang, a 56-year-old billionaire and Shanghai property developer, spent about 2 million yuan on gifts last year.

"I preferred widely recognized luxury items valued at more than 10,000 yuan, such as Hermes and Chanel bags, Cartier jewelry, and Montblanc pens," said Yu.

The billionaire also admitted to sending gifts including more than 50 iPhones, 10 iPad3s, five iPad minis, and a dozen Macbooks to his business partners and friends.

Huang Le, a 53-year-old businesswoman running a shoe trading company in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, added that she hadn't given out any branded bags as gifts in the past year, saying they are not as valuable as diamond jewelry and watches.

Huang said she had bought various Cartier diamond rings and a watch by Patek Philippe as New Year gifts for close friends and regular business contacts.

"I don't think it is very appropriate to send gifts valued any less than 200,000 yuan per item, and that's quite common among businesswomen," said Huang.

By Shi Jing and Yu Ran (China Daily)