Digital retail could be boosted by Hong Kong protests, as people shop, order food from home
- More Hongkongers now used to online platforms and apps because of protests, KPMG's spokesperson says
- Online presence may help businesses in current situation, GS1 Hong Kong says
As the Hong Kong economy reels from four months of anti-government protests, one sector could not only benefit from the chaos – but also thrive on it.
Digital retail could take off in the city, with the protests forcing shops and restaurants to shut early, or close entirely.
“More people are now used to these online platforms and apps because of the situation,” said Alice Yip, head of consumer and industrial markets, Hong Kong at KPMG China.
“Businesses that already have online channels, they get better figures from online sales. Hong Kong is a convenient and tiny city, but once people get used to online platforms, digital retail will develop better,” she said.
According to a survey conducted in July and August this year by KPMG and GS1 Hong Kong, the local chapter of Brussels-based not-for-profit global supply chain standards organisation GS1, half of Hong Kong’s younger generation want businesses to adopt mobile platforms.
E-commerce has been slow to develop in the city, where shops and restaurants are never far away from their customers. Only 4 per cent of overall retail spending in Hong Kong was conducted online in 2018, according to “The 2019 Retail Global Payments Report” by FIS’s Worldpay. In mainland China, that number stood at 24 per cent.