Hong Kong retail sales jump nearly 12% in first 2 months of year Hong Kong’s retail sales jumped by nearly 12 per cent in the first two months of 2026 against a year ago, with authorities pointing to growth in the local economy and a surge in tourists. Provisional figures released by the Census and Statistics Department on Wednesday showed retail sales reached HK$35 billion (US$4.47 billion) in February, driven by the Chinese New Year holiday and major events in the city. Sales were HK$37.3 billion in January. The department combined the retail sales figures for January and February for 11.8 per cent growth, year on year. In the Legislative Council, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui revealed that visitor arrivals rose by 17 per cent to 14.31 million in the first three months of the year. She said mainland visitors helped to drive the occupancy of the city’s hotel rooms to 90 per cent during the Chinese New Year holiday in February. In 2025, the average hotel occupancy was 87 per cent. The census department said that since Chinese New Year fell on February 17 this year but on January 29 in 2025, it was more appropriate to analyse the figures for the two months together when making a year-on-year comparison. Retail sales for the combined two months were HK$72.3 billion compared with HK$64.7 billion in 2025. Growth hit 19.3 per cent in February and 5.5 per cent in January, compared with the same period a year ago. A government spokesman said retail sales “strengthened further” and “increased visibly” in early 2026, while sales of most broad types of retailers also saw growth. “Looking ahead, the resilient growth momentum in the local economy and the vibrant increase in inbound visitors are expected to support retail businesses,” he said. “Meanwhile, the government will continue to closely monitor developments in geopolitical tensions and assess its potential implications for consumer spending in the local market.” Annie Tse Yau On-yee, chairwoman of the Hong Kong Retail Management Association, said the figures reflected a fairly good performance in the sector and credited the stronger consumer sentiment during Chinese New Year for the rise. She said that of 3,000 association members surveyed recently, most reported a positive performance in the first two months with single-digit or low double-digit growth. In terms of sales value, jewellery, valuable gifts and watches and clocks performed the best, jumping by 28 per cent to HK$11 billion in the first two months of 2026 compared with the same period last year. Tse noted that the number of items sold had dropped over the period, but the soaring gold price had resulted in an increase in sales value. Electrical goods and other consumer durables hit HK$7 billion in the period, rising by more than 32 per cent against a year ago. Only a couple of categories did badly. Fuel sales fell by 14.2 per cent year on year during the two-month period. This was before the Middle East conflict triggered a global fuel crisis. Tse said the impact of the war in the Middle East would be reflected in the traditionally quieter months of March and April, and most retailers were bracing for very low levels of growth. She also warned that although the Ching Ming Festival would bring in more tourists from mainland China, the influx might not be enough to mitigate the effects of Hongkongers travelling abroad during the Easter long weekend break. “Combined with the increased fuel prices and reduced flights, which affect long-haul tourists, we are more concerned about the Easter holiday,” she said. Tse said some businesses had rolled out bigger discounts and targeted residents by promoting travel goods to boost sales before Hongkongers headed abroad for the holidays. Hong Kong recorded 9.95 million visitor arrivals in the two months, up by 18 per cent against a year ago. The growth was driven by visitors from mainland China at 22 per cent, those from new markets at 30 per cent and long-haul travellers at 23 per cent. Mainland visitors accounted for nearly 80 per cent of the city’s total arrivals during the two-month period. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3348664/hong-kong-retail-sales-jump-nearly-12-first-2-months-year?pgtype=live (ICE HONG KONG)

Fonte notizia: South China Morning Post