Advertisement
Alibaba
TechBig Tech

Alibaba leads roll-out of Greater Bay Area shopping festival as Mainland-Hong Kong border opening remains remote

  • Alibaba is promoting the new regional shopping festival in southern China with US$3.9 million in digital coupons on Taobao and Tmall
  • The festival could help revive retail in Hong Kong, where closed borders with the mainland have taken a heavy economic toll

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
1
About 300,000 brands in the Greater Bay Area, offering more than 13 million different products, will take part in its inaugural shopping festival. Photo: AP
Jane ZhangandCannix Yau
A three-week online shopping festival designed for merchants in the Greater Bay Area started on Thursday on Alibaba Group Holding’s e-commerce platforms as China seeks to boost economic links in the region, while travel between the mainland and Hong Kong remains restricted.
The region’s inaugural shopping festival is backed by China’s Ministry of Commerce, the Guangdong provincial government and two central government liaison offices in Hong Kong and Macau with the purpose of promoting the “integrated development” of the economic bloc, the state-owned Xinhua News Agency reported.
Hangzhou-based Alibaba, the owner of the South China Morning Post, will support the festival, which runs from September 2 to 22, by offering 25 million yuan (US$3.9 million) worth of digital coupons to consumers through its Chinese online retail platforms Taobao and Tmall.
Advertisement
About 300,000 brands in the Greater Bay Area, offering more than 13 million different products, will take part in the shopping festival, Alibaba said in a statement. Hong Kong brands participating in the festival include Maxim’s, DayDayCook and jewellery chain Chow Tai Fook, offering discounts to mainland consumers who cannot travel to the city to shop.
Students visit a booth set up by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Development Office at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai on July 15, 2021. Photo: Nora Tam
Students visit a booth set up by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Development Office at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai on July 15, 2021. Photo: Nora Tam
Advertisement

Kent Wong Siu-Kee, Chow Tai Fook’s managing director for Hong Kong, Macau & Overseas, said retailers could cash in on the shopping festival by offering consumers a borderless shopping experience. “I believe the event not only promotes cross-border trade and cultural exchange within the region, but also brings consumers a borderless shopping experience and retailers more business opportunities,” he said.

Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x