Consumers still out and about despite gloom

MASTERCARD   RESEARCH   CONSUMER SURVEY 

Hong Kong - Hong Kong consumers still live by the mantra 'eat, drink and be merry'  with dining and entertainment to remain a top spending priority over the next six months.

A MasterCard survey on consumer spending shows that dining and entertainment (85%), fashion and accessories (48%) and personal travel (42%) are the most popular discretionary or recreational spending categories in Hong Kong.

Yuwa Hedrick-Wong (pictured), economic adviser, Asia Pacific for MasterCard Worldwide, said the results of the findings showed that large ticket items such as the automobile sector are unlikely to do well.

He said the results of the survey will inform marketers that consumers want value for money and those industries that offer smaller ticket items and require less expenditure will continue to do well.

Dining and entertainment, which saw a slight increase from 81% to 85% from six months ago showed that in a "depressed economy", people still want to socialise and be merry, he added.

Some 400 consumers in Hong Kong participated in the survey conducted in March and April this year.

Hedrick-Wong observed that the global recession does not appear to have a serious impact on the urban middle class in the Asia Pacific compared with previous recessions.

"Everything else being equal, the latest findings in consumer purchasing priorities are very positive for a stronger outlook of domestic consumption going forward, in spite of persistent uncertainty in the global economy," he said.

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