HK$30 billion in e-vouchers will be major boost for hard-pressed Hong Kong retail sector, city leader says
- Value of spending vouchers equal to about month’s worth of retail sales, Chief Executive John Lee says
- Lee notes about 7.3 million tourists visited city in first three months of year compared with about 600,000 visitors for all of 2022
The city recorded HK$34.7 billion in retail sales in April, an increase of 15 per cent year on year, according to preliminary figures from the Census and Statistics Department released on Thursday.
Retail sales rebounded by 21.7 per cent year on year in the first four months of 2023.
“We have seen good signs of recovery,” Lee said.
April’s levels meant spending had returned to 2019 levels. HK$36 billion was recorded in January, but the volume was distorted by seasonal factors such as the Lunar New Year.
A government spokesman said there was continued improvement in consumer confidence and tourist arrivals figures.
“Looking ahead, the revival of inbound tourism and local consumption demand should continue to help the retail sector performance. The disbursement of consumption vouchers will provide further support,” he added.
The government will issue the remaining HK$2,000 worth of consumption vouchers on July 16 to eligible residents after distributing the first round of HK$3,000 in April after the Easter holiday.
Annie Tse Yau On-yee, the retail association’s chairwoman, noted many people had already spent money on overseas travel before receiving the first round of consumption vouchers.
“The retail performance in the first half of April was pretty weak, but the situation improved in the second half of the month due to the impact of the consumption vouchers, although the increase was not significant,” Tse said.
She said the increase in May, which benefited from the mainland’s five-day “golden week” Labour Day break, was bigger.
Hong Kong’s retail sales jump by record 40.9 per cent in March
Tse said retail categories related to tourism such as cosmetics, personal care, jewellery and watches had reported a low to mid-double-digit increase compared with the same period last year.
But retail categories focused on the demands of residents, including electric appliances and furniture, logged a single digits decline for the period.
Overall, the boost to retailers over the Labour Day holiday was not significant, she said, adding the sector had returned to about 40 to 50 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
“There are indications that the consumption level of mainland visitors to Hong Kong has generally declined because they tend to do experiential tours,” Tse said.
Hong Kong e-vouchers ‘gone in a flash’, boosting retail and catering sectors
She added that the city’s reputation as a shopping paradise might no longer be its biggest attraction.
The association interviewed 3,700 merchants and 61,000 sector employees, finding that 60 per cent predicted staff shortfalls of 10 to 20 per cent in the third quarter of the year.
Tse said she hoped the government would help the industry solve its worker shortages, including through the importation of staff from the Greater Bay Area, Beijing’s plan to turn Hong Kong, Macau and nine southern mainland cities into an economic powerhouse.
