Hong Kong e-commerce scene ready for growth in 2021

E-commerce businesses in Hong Kong are set to recapture their growth hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, with supply chain and logistics issues and a decline in sales, Paypal’s new study showed.

Despite the obstacles brought by COVID-19, two-thirds (61%) of businesses surveyed are anticipating a recovery at the end of 2020, along with the measures to address the financial pressure and customer relationship challenges.

The study also found 86% of respondents believing to improve their e-commerce experience for consumers to boost their competitiveness in this time.

The PayPal Hong Kong Merchant Survey was conducted in August to understand the impact of the pandemic on e-commerce businesses and their thoughts on recovery. 86% of respondents seek capitalization on the opportunity of improving online shopping experiences to boost competitiveness.

While online shopping amplified, 27% of respondents reported tough challenges amidst the pandemic – mainly growing concerned on their sustainability.

Since January 2020, 86% of businesses claimed to have supply chain and logistics problems, while 52% reported decrease in sales as their main challenge. Such are creating dual pressure on businesses in addition to the increasing operational costs.

These issues are also causing failing customer relationships in Hong Kong businesses, including rising complaints, damaged company reputation, and loss of regular customers.