Hong Kong consumers warm to online shopping, with a little help from Alibaba’s Singles’ Day
In a city with one shopping centre per square mile, visits to stores have always been preferred, but that is changing with the relentless march of e-commerce
E-commerce has been slow to catch on in Hong Kong compared to other developed Asian markets such as South Korea and Taiwan, but Alibaba Group’s giant Singles’ Day online shopping event is helping change that mindset.
Surveys show that Hong Kong residents still prefer to shop at physical stores – perhaps no surprise in a city which averages one shopping centre per square mile (2.56 sq km) – the highest mall density in the world.
But attitudes toward online shopping are changing. In a recent survey conducted by KPMG and GS1, 40 per cent of Hongkongers polled said the convenience of shopping anywhere at any time is what they find appealing about e-commerce. And if shipping fees for e-commerce purchases were waived, more than half indicated they would find online shopping more compelling.
“Hong Kong is all about convenience, it’s one of the key drivers for shopping online … as well as value,” said Anson Bailey, head of consumer and retail at KPMG China.
Alibaba introduced Singles’ Day, also known as the 11.11 shopping festival, to Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan in 2016, the first time it was held outside the Chinese mainland.
This year, e-commerce retailer JD.com also joined the fray, offering discounts on its products to customers in the three regions as the Beijing-based company tested the waters for international expansion.
Alibaba has pulled out all stops to promote the event in Hong Kong in the last two years, plastering the walls of the city’s MTR subway system and the sides of its historic trams with advertisements reminding locals of the attractive online discounts and luring them with free shipping.