Hong Kong shoppers lukewarm to July 1 discount on grocery app, cite cheaper prices at wet markets, fresher choices
- Many point to more choices and cheaper options already available at wet markets, while elderly shoppers say they are put off by needing to rely on app for discount
- Wholesalers’ group argues week-long discount to mark handover anniversary will hurt business
While many retailers were confident their products would remain competitive during the week, a wholesalers’ group said the discount would hurt business.
Retiree Ng, 65, who was shopping at a wet market on Bowrington Road in Causeway Bay, said: “I like to buy at markets because I can feel and touch the products. I know about the discount but I do not want to visit the website or mobile application because it would be too complicated for me.”
To mark the 26th anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese rule on July 1, the government earlier announced residents could enjoy a 29 per cent discount, “paying 71 per cent of the price” for designated products from the Fish Marketing Organisation (FMO) and the Vegetable Marketing Organisation (VMO) on the Local Fresh mobile app from July 1 to 7.
Housewife Ma Sau-yin, 59, also said she had no intention of learning how to shop online despite the discounts, and that she preferred fresh fish at the wet market for making soup.
“You have to use fresh fish to boil soup because frozen ones tend to smell fishy. And I love the fact that I can compare prices from different stalls before I make decisions,” the grandmother of two said.
Another wet market shopper, retiree Wong Kin-shing, 73, said he did not plan to buy via Local Fresh even with the discount, despite being a regular customer of online food retail platforms.
