Concrete Analysis | ‘Greater Bay Area’ initiative has brought Hong Kong closer to 68 million mainland China consumers

The Hong Kong retail market is evolving. Whether it is because of publicity around the “Greater Bay Area”, huge rail and bridge projects, or changing consumer behaviour in the digital age – things are happening in the shopping streets of the city that no one could think of five years ago.

Undoubtedly, improved connectivity brings in more foot traffic. Hong Kong now finds itself within easy reach of a vast pool of 68 million shoppers who are looking for somewhere different to take a break in than the usual metropolises of Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Dongguan. WeChat provides instant and detailed tips on bargains, and Alipay makes it easy for mainland consumers to make payments in the city.

Rucksacks and trolleys are preferred over suitcases to carry all that shopping. We are now in the age of day trippers.

Indeed, the number of mainland visitors who prefer shorter, same-day visits to Hong Kong is on the rise. In 2007, Hong Kong received 6.4 million such visitors, who accounted for 40 per cent of all mainland visits to the city. In 2017, this was three times more, or 25.9 million, representing 60 per cent of total mainland visits.

With the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge and the Express Rail Link opening this year, people from further afield in the Greater Bay Area can now do a whirlwind day trip to Hong Kong just like their Guangzhou counterparts, thanks to ever-expanding transport networks. So it is not hard to envisage the number of day trippers reaching 30 million in two or three years’ time.

Day trippers, or same-day visitors as they are officially called, no longer buy just watches and jewellery. Because they can come and go a lot more easily than before, they are beginning to treat Hong Kong as one of their “local” shopping destinations, very much like residents in Yuen Long going shopping in Tsim Sha Tsui or Causeway Bay, which are an hour’s bus trip.