80% of mainland Chinese shoppers bought Hong Kong products online: poll

Nearly 80 per cent of mainland Chinese consumers polled have said they shopped online for Hong Kong products, according to survey findings by the statutory trade body, which called for the city’s retailers to step up live streaming and influencer marketing.

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council said on Thursday that its findings were based on a survey of 2,200 middle-to-high-income consumers from various mainland cities during the second and third quarters of 2024.

The survey showed that 78 per cent of mainland consumers bought products from the city online in the past year, and that they were frequent shoppers, averaging 9.4 purchases per month, particularly those in tier one and the nine cities in the Greater Bay Area.

“When shopping online, mainland consumers’ primary consideration is whether the products are genuine, not low prices,” said Irina Fan Yuen-yee, the council’s director of research.

“This suggests that Hong Kong businesses can leverage the superior quality of Hong Kong products and the strong reputation of Hong Kong brands in mainland China to expand into the mainland e-commerce market.”

Online shopping for Hong Kong products was particularly popular among young mainland consumers aged 18 to 29, with 83 per cent of this group having made an online purchase in the past year, the survey showed.