Retail Boom Days may be Over in Hong Kong

Mainland shoppers hauling purchases from Hermes in TST

The cancellation of PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) tests for visitors before arriving into Hong Kong did not result in hoards of mainlanders flooding into the city as shop owners had hoped.

Several shop owners, particularly pharmacies lamented that business only increased by 10 percent.

Chanel is a popular luxury brand for Chinese

"During the pandemic, the economy and lifestyle of the mainlanders changed... They have become reliant on online shopping," said pharmacy owner Tony Lee.

"Before the pandemic, there used to be lines of customers queuing outside my shop and this street was full of tourists," he said of San Hong Street in Sheung Shui, across the border from Shenzhen. 

Lee worried business would not go back to pre-pandemic levels because consumers seemed used to shopping online than going to physical stores like his.

While mainland tourists have noticed many shops have shuttered since the pandemic, the biggest winners so far seem to be luxury brands.

Mainlanders believe HK products are real

Mainlanders are still keen to shop at Dior, Louis Vuitton and Chanel because they believe the goods are genuine -- they still perceive the same products in shops in China are fake...

Is this the only thing going for Hong Kong these days?