Two in five Hong Kongers consider running e-commerce side businesses

More people prefer to start businesses online than start with brick-and-mortar.

Two in five or 44% of Hongkongers consider running a side business through e-commerce platforms, GoDaddy revealed.

According to its 2017 Gig Economy Survey, 60% prefer to start their side hustle online instead of by opening a physical brick and mortar store to save on costs incurred by having to pay rent.

About 39% of those surveyed in Hong Kong also prefer using social media to run their side hustle because it is easier to set up through these channels and enables them to reach a mass target audience.

A majority of 84% agreed that social media is convenient but less sustainable to run than online websites with the 42% of respondents finding it a hassle to manage both a website and a social media platform at the same time.

The survey also indicated that 23% of side hustle business owners in the territory feel that digital marketing is the hardest technology for them to use, followed by social media at 21%, e-commerce at 20%, SEO at 20%, and website building at 16%.

The firm also found that 66% and 65% of Hong Kong customers believe that security and credibility are equally important when shopping online. About 52% said word-of-mouth is also important, whilst 50% it is in the form of payment methods.

Both Facebook and online stores with official websites are popular platforms for Hong Kong customers to do their shopping on.

About 37% of Hongkongers have a part-time work or business alongside their full-time job. The main reasons that people start side hustling are to increase their personal wealth and to monetize their skills and resources.