As the Hong Kong Government’s Consumption Voucher Scheme (“the Scheme”) prepares for the first instalment to be paid to eligible residents, the focus is not only on what this means to the immediate spending power of consumers who will have a funded HK$5,000 at their disposal but also what this means for businesses, now and in the future.
In Kantar’s latest study, interviewing 869 Hong Kong respondents, we explore consumer sentiment and intended use of the Consumption Vouchers and look ahead to the future of electronic payment tools in the market.
What will Hong Kong consumers spend their vouchers on?
The top five areas of spending reported for Hong Kong voucher users are mainly focused on daily and household essential categories;
1. Supermarket and Daily Groceries
2. Electronic Products and Home Appliances
3. Dining Service
4. Transportation
5. Fashion and Shoes
Whereas cosmetics, travel and tourism and luxury goods are found to be less common items for people to spend their allocated funds.
The study shows that almost half of the voucher users intend to spend their allocated HK$5,000 in one to three larger size purchases. Of the respondents asked, 59% are willing to add their own funds to their desired purchases that exceed the HK$5,000 value by up to HK$2,999. A total of 24% will not top up the total with their own funds, opting to spend only to the value of the government funded HK$5,000.
Which payment providers are people choosing to access their vouchers?
There are four elected payment providers under the Scheme. More than half of respondents (53%) report Octopus as their chosen spending provider to receive their vouchers from 1st August 2021. Currently it is reported that 27% will use Alipay and the remaining fifth of the population will spend their vouchers via WeChat Pay HK (11%) and Tap & Go (9%).
Will Hong Kong residents shop offline or online?
Six out of 10 respondents plan to spend their vouchers offline (59%), with the remaining 41% spending these online. Whilst 24/7 shopping, allowing consumers to purchase at any time suitable to them is the top reason for those choosing to shop online with their vouchers (30%), discounts are key factors for both online and offline shoppers who are looking for the best deal from their Consumption vouchers. For online shoppers they believe they will get better discounts/ offers through online platforms (23%).
However, 39% of offline shoppers believe they will get these in the retail store and receive extra discounts from the shopping malls or department stores (37%) by visiting in person to spend their vouchers.
What do Hong Kong residents think about the future of electronic payment tools?
A further Governmental aim through the Scheme is to foster the development of the local electronic payment market. And with the rapid rate of innovation, notably due to businesses having to react to the COVID-19 pandemic, this can be seen as a natural shift in business focus.
But do consumers think this will grow in Hong Kong? We asked respondents where they see the future and 61% predicted that electronic payment tools will turn into the major payment method in Hong Kong.
Three quarters of Hong Kong respondents report that they will continue to use electronic payment tools after the Scheme. (75%).
This is for three key reasons;
o 1. Convenience (28%)
o 2. Better deals and discounts (22%)
o 3. Variety- extensive coverage of merchants (16%)
Lastly, 53% respondents foresees their usage increment for electronic payment tool will be up to 20% while 15% thinks of 21-50% increment.
Download the infographic of the study
About the study:
This study was conducted using Kantar’s LifePoints panel, part of the Kantar Profiles Network. Between 30th June – 7th July, 2021, 869 permission-based respondents who qualified as Hong Kong residents were interviewed
Should you be interested in receiving the full report exploring further understanding of consumer spend and payments methods, please reach out to profiles@kantar.com.