Hong Kong consumers favour physical stores

Online or physical store buying?

In Hong Kong, the consensus among consumers seems to be towards the latter.

Although 92% of the Hong Kong respondents in a survey by CBRE said they owned smartphones, the majority of them still prefer to buy from an actual store rather than online.

The survey also found that consumers in the territory are generally well versed in the use of Web and social media — with 51% of respondents using social media portals to stay informed of new store openings, promotions and marketing events. But this does not seem to translate into online retail sales.

Instead, the findings show that Hong Kong consumers generally spend just HK$946 (US$122.03) per month online compared with HK$1,634 per month in brick-and mortar stores.

CBRE’s first-ever Asia-Pacific consumer survey, carried out in August last year, sought to identify current and future shopping trends in the region. It interviewed about 11,000 consumers in 11 major cities, including Hong Kong.