Charting Hong Kong’s mobile commerce landscape: mobile shopping apps use & top m-commerce purchases

HKTVmall recently launched a new e-commerce platform – HKTVshops – which allows individual retailers to design and operate their own independent online store with a dedicated website domain name, which can be easily accessed by HKTVmall mobile shopping app users.

But how popular is online shopping via mobile in Hong Kong currently? How does usage of different mobile shopping channels (e-commerce platform apps, retail brands own mobile apps, social media e-shops and mobile web browsers) vary? And what products are Hong Kong’s mobile shoppers most likely to purchase across different age groups?

How popular is mobile commerce in Hong Kong?

Latest research from YouGov Surveys – using an online representative sample of >500 Hong Kong residents – show that nine in ten (90%) consumers say they use their smartphone to shop online.

Mobile browsers are the most popular m-commerce channel in Hong Kong, used by half (50%) of consumers. Mobile shopping via web browsing apps is also most popular in Australia.

Dedicated mobile shopping apps are next most popular. Similar to other APAC markets like Singapore and Indonesia, e-commerce platform apps (45%) are significantly more popular than mobile shopping apps from specific retail brands (30%).

Finally, social media e-shops are used by 27% of consumers in Hong Kong.

How popular are mobile shopping apps in Hong Kong?

E-commerce platform apps are used by almost two-thirds of consumers aged 18-24, but less than half of consumers aged 25 years and above. In particular, current usage among consumers aged 25-34 is lowest – at less than two in five.

Usage of retail brand shopping apps is broadly similar across different age groups – at close to one in three – but is highest among consumers aged 18-24 and lowest among consumers aged 45-54.

Among consumers who use dedicated mobile shopping apps, about half have between one to three of such apps installed on their phone, while a quarter have more than five such apps.

How often do consumers in Hong Kong shop online via their smartphone?

Latest data from YouGov Surveys also shows that, among consumers who shop online using their smartphone, most do so at least once a month.

Over two in five (44%) say they don’t shop online via their mobile every week, but do so at least once a month, while a quarter (26%) go mobile shopping on a weekly basis.

Additionally, a fifth (20%) do so at least a couple of times a year.

What products do consumers in Hong Kong buy using their smartphone?

Clothes, shoes and fashion apparel are the #1 most common mobile shopping purchase among mobile shoppers aged 18-54, where over half say they buy such products online via their smartphone. However, it’s a close #2 for those aged 55 years or older.

Personal electronics are #1 among mobile shoppers aged 55+ years, and also rank #2 among those aged 18-54 years.

Travel bookings for hotels and flights are #3 among mobile shoppers aged 35 years or older, but rank #5 for those aged 18-34. Instead, skincare and beauty products are the third most common among younger mobile shoppers aged 18-34, but rank #5 among 35-54 years and #7 among 55 years and older.

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Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18+ years in 18 markets with sample sizes varying between 510 and 2,044 for each market. All surveys were conducted online during April 2023. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.

YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data and rolling surveys, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Profiles data for Hong Kong is representative of the adult online population (18 years or older), weighted by age and gender, and reflect the latest Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) population estimates. Learn more about Profiles.

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