More Hong Kong shops to close as retail habits change, shopping shifts online

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Local beauty brand JaneClare is an example of a firm that is making money online, but still values real-world spaces

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Interior view of JaneClare’s flagship store in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Sun Yeung

Cheryl Arcibal

Published: 8:30am, 16 Dec 2024Updated: 9:43am, 16 Dec 2024

With the shopping habits of both Hongkongers and visitors to the city going through a sea change, more brands and retailers are making online sales a central part of their strategy to navigate the shifting tides.

Hong Kong’s retail industry is witnessing an upheaval, forcing some mainstay brands to adjust their strategy, as residents increasingly cross the border to mainland China to shop and dine where the prices are lower.

More companies are likely to close shops or be cautious in their expansion plans in 2025, according to Jeanette Chan, senior director of retail at JLL in Hong Kong. However, online shopping is on an upswing.

“Before Covid, online shopping only came to about 3 to 4 per cent of Hong Kong’s total retail sales,” Chan said. “But during the pandemic this percentage increased to double digits. After Covid the percentage dropped back to single digits, but now we actually see this trend increasing again in the second half of this year as more people shop online.”

03:39

Shop occupancy recovers in Hong Kong, but vacant stores still visible across the city

Hong Kong’s retail sales declined for the eighth consecutive month in October, dropping 2.9 per cent year on year, according to the Census and Statistics Department. Retail sales in the first 10 months of the year fell 7.1 per cent to about HK$312.3 billion (US$40.2 billion), compared with the same period in 2023, according to the government’s provisional estimates.