Chinese consumers are increasingly avoiding the high street and electing to seek out cheaper and better products online.

It is a trend that is popular nationwide but young office workers in Shanghai are in the vanguard.

In China's financial hub, white-collar workers make an average of four online purchases a month while their counterparts in Beijing and Guangzhou complete around three deals, according to a survey jointly conducted by cn.msn.com and the consultancy agency iResearch.