HK online shoppers prefer to buy from China, Japan, USA

Three in four Hong Kong eCommerce shoppers prefer to buy their goods cross-border.

The lockdowns have led to more shoppers buying goods online, and Hong Kong is no exception.

A recent PayPal report said that 73% of Hong Kong online shoppers prefer to buy their goods internationally: 53% from China, 38% from Japan, and 34% from the USA.

The top reason for buying goods online is better prices, at 46%, access to items not available in the local market at 33%, and higher quality of products at 33%.

Approximately 43% of goods bought online buy Hong Kong shoppers fall under the clothing/apparel category, followed by groceries at 26% and cosmetics at 21%.

Whilst 51% of Hong Kongers find goods through searching for the items or brand that they like, a sizeable 42% get shopping recommendations from social media, and 35% get recommendations from word of mouth.

“Like many markets, Hong Kong’s social media landscape is facing increasing scrutiny for privacy, brand safety and advertising regulations, affecting both global players like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube as well as regional titans like WeChat. Merchants with the Hong Kong market in their sights should be ready with a flexible marketing plan,” Paypal said.