Survey: Half of HK firms plan to boost marketing and ad spending in 2025

More than four in 10 companies in Hong Kong expect to increase spending on advertising and marketing (50%) and business travel and entertainment (43%) in 2025, according to a new study by American Express. 

Conducted by IPSOS on behalf of American Express through online interviews from December 2024 to January 2025, the 2025 Hong Kong Business Outlook Study gathers views from more than 500 companies of different sizes and across 11 sectors in Hong Kong.

The surveyed sectors include manufacturing, import or export trade and wholesale, retail, transportation, storage and courier services, accommodation and food services, information and communications, finance and insurance, real estate, professional and business services, social and personal services, and healthcare and wellness. The findings highlight that businesses are prioritising investments in advertising and marketing, online fraud prevention, and digital transformation as key growth drivers.

According to the study, half of companies surveyed (50%) plan to boost their advertising and marketing budgets this year to strengthen their brand presence. Within this group, 62% aim to diversify their advertising and marketing channels and 61% intend to produce advertising and promotion initiatives that can help differentiate themselves. Additionally, 53% of companies are driven by the ambition to expand into overseas markets, fueling their increased spending.

The survey also found that three in four companies (75%) plan to maintain (32%) or increase (43%) spending on overseas business travel and entertainment in 2025. Businesses, which will increase spending, cite a desire to deepen relationships with prospective customers (64%) and existing customers (61%) overseas as key reasons.

Digitalisation is another major investment focus, with 43% of companies projecting an increase in their spending on digital transformation initiatives this year. Among them, 60% are set to make investments designed to strengthen network security and combat online fraud, while 55% intend to enhance the speed and efficiency of payments and collections and 52% plan to keep up with competitors’ digital transformation efforts.

Recognising that security and agility are crucial to sustained growth, 45% of the surveyed companies plan to increase spending on online fraud prevention. The top three drivers include: strengthening website security (53%); implementing guardrails for payment transaction restrictions (51%); and using third-party fraud prevention tools (49%).

“Our survey reveals the eagerness of businesses to invest to drive growth and stay agile. Cash flow remains a pivotal factor, enabling enterprises to proactively seize development and expansion opportunities. This is critical for fostering a robust business landscape in Hong Kong,” said Tony Tsai, vice president & general manager, international card services-commercial, Asia region, American Express.

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