Glitz fails to prise open purses

Hong Kong's prestige malls may be all marble columns and open spaces, but a Sunday Morning Post survey has found this is not enough to get most mainland shoppers to relax their grip on their purse strings.

A poll of about 30 mainland shoppers at Times Square in Causeway Bay, Pacific Place in Admiralty, Langham Place in Mongkok and IFC Mall in Central found most could not see past the city's high prices, even if they were all wide-eyed at the well-decorated shops.

Public servant Mrs Tian, 45, visiting from Jiangsu with her husband, praised the aesthetics of Hong Kong's shopping malls, but the couple had spent only $5,000 after two days. A Mr Lu, 36, said he could get better prices back home in Beijing and that shop assistants here treated him like a stranger.

But not all found their shopping experiences wanting. A Ms Li, 30, spent more than $60,000 shopping in IFC Mall buying designer clothes and jewellery.