E-commerce is targeting "Hong Kong"?

Although Hong Kong's e-commerce market faces challenges such as high logistics costs, complicated customs procedures and easy loss of items, its huge consumption potential and geographical advantage as an international trade node make it a battleground.

Tell me if it’s strange or not!

On the one hand, Hong Kong people are heading north. According to statistics, more than 53 million Hong Kong people went north last year. What does that mean? This is equivalent to each Hong Kong person going north more than 7 times! On the other hand, large domestic companies are flocking to Hong Kong.

For example, Meituan Takeaway before, and Taobao and JD.com also invested heavily this time!

First, Taobao announced an investment of 1 billion yuan. Starting from October, free shipping will be provided in Hong Kong for orders over 99 yuan for a limited time. The trial run will last for three months and cover all small and light commodities.

JD.com later announced that users in Hong Kong can enjoy free door-to-door delivery service for orders over RMB 299 (free delivery for 10kg), with delivery as soon as the next day.

Although free shipping and home delivery are common in mainland China, it is not that simple in Hong Kong!

First of all, the labor cost is high!

The second step is that the customs process is time-consuming, even people in Hong Kong complain about it. It takes a week or half a month to receive the goods shipped from the Shenzhen shipping warehouse.

The third hurdle is that it’s easy to lose items, and if they are lost there’s nowhere to complain, so you just have to consider yourself unlucky.

Such a poor shopping experience has made Hong Kong people stay away from online shopping. According to data from the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, in the first seven months of this year, the proportion of online sales in Hong Kong's total retail sales value fluctuated between 6% and 9%. In mainland China, the proportion has exceeded 27%.

Tell me, given the situation, why are people still flocking to Hong Kong?

The main thing is that he was born in Rome!

First, Hong Kong has a large population, a lot of money, and a high population density, which means there are many consumers and strong purchasing power. This is a big market!

Second, Hong Kong has a great geographical location and is an important node for international trade and shipping! Its port facilities are advanced, cargo throughput is huge, the shipping industry is very developed, and with its open economic policy, Hong Kong has always been a bridge for large factories and surrounding cities to go out to sea!

Third, Alibaba and JD.com need new growth.

JD.com's revenue grew by 1.2% in the second quarter of this year, the lowest year-on-year growth rate in a single quarter since its listing. As for Alibaba, although its revenue grew by 4% year-on-year, its net profit fell by 27% year-on-year...mainly because at this time, its competitors TEMU and SHEIN were still growing rapidly in the global market.

Alibaba and JD.com are naturally jealous. Moreover, Alibaba's international e-commerce business in its first half annual report this year is also very impressive, so "international business is a must"!

Hong Kong is a key step in internationalizing business. In addition, many developed countries are similar to Hong Kong, with many consumers and strong shopping ability, but highly developed offline retail and low level of e-commerce development. Therefore, winning the Hong Kong e-commerce market can greatly increase the confidence of e-commerce platforms in internationalization.

But it’s easier said than done!

On the one hand, it costs a lot to build up logistics in Hong Kong.

On the other hand, there are many competitors.

First of all, there are local e-commerce platforms, such as HKTV Mall, which has a rich product range. Most importantly, it has opened large supermarkets in multiple areas of Hong Kong and cooperated with more than 400 merchants. You can pick up goods at the store if you spend more than 200 yuan, and the goods will be delivered to your door if you spend more than 500 yuan. It is very convenient.

Secondly, there are international e-commerce giants such as Amazon. Using Amazon to buy foreign brand products in Hong Kong has a strong price advantage.

Finally, there are TEMU and TIKTOK SHOP, whose strength should not be underestimated.

So let’s wait and see who will get a piece of the pie in Hong Kong’s e-commerce platform!