The finance chief also stressed that “simply repeating past operating models” would fail to achieve growth.

“The good news is, the market remains quite prosperous, and consumer demand is very real,” he added.

“As long as we change our approach, adjust our positioning and update some strategies to satisfy new demands … business will continue to develop, just like this shopping festival that brings together various industry players.”

The event also runs in tandem with Monday’s celebrations marking the 27th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese sovereignty.

Organisers will hold themed activities over the course of the event, running a “Health, Beauty and Wellbeing” promotion between July 1 and 18, before touting electronics, watches and jewellery, as well as department stores and shopping malls under a “Worldwide Top Trend” banner from July 19 to August 1.

The festival will hold a “Fashion and Taste” promotion from August 2 to 15 that spans clothing, shoes, eyewear, as well as food and drinks, then wrapping up with a “Super Shopping Flash” theme for the last two weeks to drum up trade for supermarkets, convenience stores and exhibitions.

Among the sweeteners on offer are free baked pork buns from dim sum chain Tim Ho Wan, HK$100 coupons from eyewear retailer Optical88 and a free drink worth under HK$50 with every meal from Cafe de Coral.

“The number of industry friends supporting the event this year is a highlight of the festival,” association chairwoman Annie Tse Yau On-yee said.

Alongside partners in the retail, dining and tourism sectors, players in the convention and exhibition, hotels, cross-border transport and banking industries were taking part this year, she said.

Tse added that e-payment operators and local authorities had also teamed up with the association for the event.

“The association invited so many newcomers this year because tourists coming to Hong Kong nowadays not only seek out shopping, but also dining, entertainment and even accommodation experiences,” she said.

She also stressed the importance of industries working together to create a “synergistic effect”, while expressing confidence that this year’s event would see more business than the 2023 edition.

Customers can earn extra perks if they vote for their favourite “courtesy stores”, with the winner to be announced in September.

Tse earlier said the sector should brace for overall retail sales for the entire year to decline by a percentage in the low double digits range.

The latest government data showed the retail sales in March retracted by 7 per cent year-on-year, followed by a further drop of 14.7 per cent in April.

But the association chairwoman said on Thursday that it was “difficult” to estimate when the situation would turn around.

“Our performance is affected by many external factors, including our exchange rate,” she said, referring to the city’s expensive currency due to being pegged to the US dollar.

“Of course, it also depends on whether we will get good news soon regarding our tax-free threshold for mainland visitors.”

Industry insiders have been calling on authorities to raise the tax threshold from its current 5,000 yuan per trip, to eventually match that of Hainan island’s 100,000 yuan per year.