The Zhitong Finance App learned that the chairman of the Hong Kong Retail Management Association, Tse Qiu An-yee, said that retail sales growth in June was narrower than in May, and was mainly affected by Hong Kong people traveling for long vacations and bad weather. According to a member survey, the market was still weak in July. About 30% of members expect business to record a decline. As Hong Kong people travel during the summer vacation, which affects local consumption, the number of visitors to Hong Kong will increase until late July to August, which will only drive the retail market.
In terms of items, the increase in sales of bread, confectionery, candy and cookies is believed to be driven by the World Cup; the increase in alcoholic beverages and tobacco was slight, mainly affected by last year's high base. The survey visited 4,100 retail stores, involving about 80,000 employees. The results showed that more than 30% of members expected an increase in business in July. Nearly 30% remained flat, and over 30% thought there was a decline. Xie Qiu Anyi explained that the bad weather in July had a particularly significant impact on retail sales. Coupled with the peak tourist season in the second half of July, which may not offset the impact of local residents' summer travel, department stores are expected to decline; cosmetics, jewelry, electrical appliances, and personal care are expected to record increases.
Looking ahead to August, it is expected that close to 60% of respondents will record an increase in sales, close to 30%, and a decline of more than 10%, reflecting an expected improvement in confidence in August. However, association members also indicated that visitors are most concerned about food and cultural experiences, and their spending power is still weak.
Regarding the summer vacation market, she believes that the negative factors continue to affect the pace of interest rate cuts and stock market performance due to unfavorable market conditions such as outbound travel for Hong Kong people and bad weather and torrential rain. However, the increase in the number of visitors is helpful to the retail market. She expects that the market will be stable in the second half of the year, and that uncertain factors on the market will be digested. If retail sales do not rise in September of this year, retail sales will gradually narrow in the second half of this year due to an efficient base.