Survey: Only one-third of HK merchants are confident in business rebound next year

As the pandemic continues and the economy is unlikely to see significant improvement in 2020, merchants in Hong Kong are already looking forward to 2021 — but not many of them are confident that business will get any better next year. 

According to a survey conducted by American Express, just under one-third (31%) of surveyed local merchants in Hong Kong expect to see their business improve in the run-up to early 2021, and nearly one-fifth (19%) expect sales revenue to improve by any more than 10%. 

Nearly half of the respondents (48%) plan to offer discounts to bring back customers, while a similar number are preparing to sell products online (41%).

On the business development front, 42% of businesses had collaborated with a business partner to launch promotional programmes, and the overwhelming majority (92%) of them had found such partnerships helpful to their businesses.

As for the benefits that business partnerships could offer, respondents said access to online channels for e-commerce opportunities (66%) was a major benefit, followed by the increase in the awareness of their business (63%), and the use of social media (63%).

“Local businesses in Hong Kong are seeing the merits of collaborating with business partners to attract customers and boost sales. American Express has been rolling out an array of initiatives to bring high-spending customers through merchants’ doors," said Desmond Leung, vice president and general manager of global merchant and network services for Greater China at American Express.

The online survey was conducted by YouGov between 1 to 8 September, interviewing a total of 206 local merchants in Hong Kong to gather their views on the business environment. Respondents included key decision makers in local businesses at the middle management level or above. The organisational size of each local merchant surveyed in Hong Kong was not more than 50.

Related articles

Carousell HK launches subscription service for merchants

Google HK: Hongkongers and local businesses are optimistic about AI

New study reveals the value of Hong Kong food delivery business during the pandemic