Hong Kong Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in Hong Kong, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals.
eCommerce-Hong Kong & Macau
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Overview

Hong Kong has maintained its position as one of the cities with the highest internet penetration rates at 93%. According to a 2022 survey on internet usage conducted by the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department 96.1% of all total households in Hong Kong have access to the Internet. 80 percent of these households have access to a personal computer and 99.7% can access the internet through their smartphone device.  

The survey highlighted the ubiquitous smartphone usage amongst people aged 10 and above 98.2%. The other demographic group that has seen a dramatic uptake in smartphone ownership is the older than 65 years age group where the numbers increased from 94.2% from the previous year to 96.5%.

According to Statista, revenue in the e-commerce market in Hong Kong is projected to hit US$20.32 billion in 2023. This represents annual growth rate of 9.42% as user penetration hits 80.9%. Besides high internet connectivity, the Hong Kong population live in highly connected urban areas, making it a very conducive environment for e-commerce to thrive.

Hong Kong consumers make regular purchases from cross-border sites like Tmall, JD.com, WeChat, and Amazon for products ranging from health and beauty, consumer electronics, fashion, household products, and sports equipment. Besides, cross-border e-commerce sites, Hong Kong TVmall, a local online shopping platform has grown to be Hong Kong’s biggest online shopping platforms in recent years. HKTVmall is expanding its international merchant reach by offering third party logistic services. Its subsidiary, Shoalter Technology, offers a 24-hour fully automated warehouse with 144,000 square feet for international brands with local representation.

Echoing the exponential growth of e-commerce globally, successful online shopping platforms are increasingly focused on developing multiple facets of their business including investing on their distribution network, logistics, warehousing, marketing and promotion, digital payment gateways and omnichannel retailing. Omnichannel retailing refers to the multi-channel sales strategy that aims to give customers a seamless buying experience across different channels while collecting critical information about their lifestyle and shopping habits. It is expected that more e-commerce companies will make significant investments to expand their virtual engagement through deployment of AI assistants, live-streaming, and promotion through key opinion leaders.

Besides online shopping, the online food delivery segment has also proliferated with revenue in the online food delivery market projected to reach US$3.61 billion in 2023, an annual growth of 9.15% from 2023-2027.

Resources 

The Hong Kong government provides various subsidies for businesses hoping to create or enhance their online business operation.  The funding schemes include the Trade and Industry Department’s Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales is available to all Hong Kong-registered businesses. Other funding schemes available include the Cyberport’s Creative Micro Fund, the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park’s Science and Technology Entrepreneur Program, and the Hong Kong Productivity Council’s Retail Technologies Adoption Assistance Scheme. 

Macau E-Commerce Overview 

The latest figures in 2021 released by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) show that household Internet penetration level has reached 97.9 percent, an increase of 3.3 percent from the year prior. Approximately 98% of the population of Macau access the internet via smartphones. The survey confirmed that the heaviest users are between 15- 24 years of age, and the highest rate of growth is found amongst senior citizens above the age of 65 at 72.1%, a 6.8% increase from the previous year.

With proximity to Hong Kong and as well as the Greater Bay Area, Macau is considered a natural extension for established e-commerce players like Tmall Global, JD.com, Pinduoduo, Wechat and Tik Tok to build market share. The Hong Kong- Zhuhai-Macau bridge was completed in 2018 and this created a land linkage for goods to be transported via land from the nearby Hong Kong and Shenzhen ports. In December 2022, HKTV Mall started operating in Macau and is seeing positive results. The dominant e-commerce player in Macau is Tmall followed by JD.com and TikTok.

Many local ecommerce business services providers are available in Hong Kong.  The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) website lists a range of e-commerce business service providers.

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

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