Holiday shopping in Hong Kong: how consumers find what to buy & how early most start their shopping

From double 11 deals to Christmas light-ups outside malls, retailers in Hong Kong are gearing up for the year-end shopping spree.

But how do consumers in Hong Kong find holiday shopping and gift ideas – and how far in advance do they start their holiday shopping?

How early do consumers in Hong Kong typically start holiday shopping?

Latest YouGov Surveys research shows that most consumers (73%) say they generally begin shopping for holidays they celebrate during the month of the event.

• A quarter (25%) do so 3-4 weeks in advance, a third (34%) 1-2 weeks before, and a seventh (14%) on the week of itself.
• Among early shoppers who begin their festive purchases more than a month in advance, just 5% do so 2-3 months ahead and 1% more than quarter prior.

Meanwhile, 20% of consumers say they do not engage in holiday shopping around specific celebrations.

How do consumers in Hong Kong discover what to buy during holiday seasons?

Almost half (49%) of consumers say they use retailer websites / apps – the most popular source of holiday shopping ideas – to identify products to buy for the festive celebrations.

• Search engines (43%) are the next most popular source, followed by family/friends/colleagues and social media platforms (both 36%).
• One in three (33%) turn to online reviews and recommendations, ahead of TV ads (29%), a mainstay of festive campaigns for major brands.

Analysing by generation, however, reveals that younger consumers are much more likely to turn to social media platforms to discover what to buy.

• While 52% of Gen Z and 45% of Millennials say they find holiday shopping ideas on social media, only 31% of Gen X and 20% of Baby Boomers say the same.

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 September 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.

_{Cover photo by Mai Yo}