Overall retail sales in Hong Kong contracted by 18.5 percent year-on-year, reflecting the deepest decline since 2014, the latest MasterCard SpendingPulse Hong Kong Report revealed, the worst performance in the history of the study.
Clothing and jewellery sales in March dropped by more than total retail sales, while only grocery outperformed overall retail sales. The March results brought the year-on-year Q1 retail sales decline to 11.7 percent from the same period in 2015.
“As a result of the contraction in spending from Mainland China tourists and in discretionary spending by domestic Hong Kong consumers, we observed the deepest decline of retail sales in the history of SpendingPulse in Hong Kong this month,” says Sarah Quinlan, senior vice president, market insights for MasterCard Advisors. “The early Easter holiday did nothing to stimulate spending as consumer confidence remains subdued.”
“Overall our outlook for Hong Kong retail sales remains weak as the slowdown in spending from Mainland China continues to negatively impact the Hong Kong retail economy,” added Quinlan.
Analyzing local retail performance and spending, the macroeconomic report uses aggregated and anonymous transaction data, along with all other payment forms including cash, to offer insight into consumer spending trends, providing an early overview of market indices to help retailers, investors, card issuers, banks and government agencies in their decision-making processes.
