The third Hong Kong Shopping Festival (Chinese Mainland) has concluded with resounding success, generating over 115 million total views across all online platforms—a 15% increase from last year. Organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) with full support from the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the event ran from 1 to 20 August and featured more than 280 brands and over 600 products. The festival, themed “Hong Kong Highlights, One Click Away,” offered exclusive discounts and live-stream sales on major platforms like Douyin, JD.com, and Taobao, complemented by marketing campaigns on Xiaohongshu and WeChat.
The event’s success underscores the strong affinity for Hong Kong brands in the mainland, known for their trust and quality. It also highlighted the growing importance of e-commerce for Hong Kong enterprises. Building on this momentum, the HKTDC is expanding the festival to the ASEAN region for the first time, with events planned in Malaysia and Singapore from 21 to 27 September. This strategic move aims to help Hong Kong businesses tap into another vast e-commerce market and diversify their reach.
Algernon Yau, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of the HKSAR, noted, “Participating brands of the Hong Kong Shopping Festival (Chinese Mainland) have reported positive sales performance. The Government will continue to support Hong Kong enterprises to develop e-commerce through flexible funding support, capacity building, training, and promotion assistance. This year, the festival is expanding into the ASEAN region for the first time, facilitating Hong Kong enterprises to tap into another enormous e-commerce market.”
The festival’s core components—Discount Month and live-stream e-commerce—were instrumental in driving consumer engagement. This year, the event arranged more than 30 live-streaming sessions for around 90 brands, featuring renowned KOLs such as Li Jiaqi and Lin Yilin, and TVB Select. The live-streams attracted over 10 million views. A new “Behind-the-Brand” origin-tracing live-stream series took mainland viewers on immersive tours of Hong Kong factories and retail stores, enhancing brand transparency and consumer confidence.
Participating brands reaped significant benefits. Wai Yuen Tong, a health supplement brand, saw sales on its Tmall flagship store increase fivefold during the event, attributing this to the “Behind-the-Brand” series. Vivian Tang, Executive Director of Wai Yuen Tong, emphasized that the live-streams helped build trust and generate interest. Social enterprise Hello Cocoa, which entered the mainland market for the first time, achieved over 200,000 brand impressions. Louie Lu, Founder & CEO, expressed enthusiasm about participating in the upcoming ASEAN festival.
The festival also focused on enhancing the e-commerce capabilities of Hong Kong businesses. Through in-house live-streaming and content seeding, brands like Hung Fook Tong, a three-time participant, doubled their sales during the event. Audrey Poon, General Manager, highlighted the festival’s role in strengthening their brand image and e-commerce skills. Startup Eco.babe, participating in live-streaming for the first time, saw a 50% year-on-year increase in sales of its insect repellent.
To engage younger demographics, the festival introduced a designer toys category and collaborated with artists Moon Lau and Kalok Chow, generating over 60 million views across Douyin, Xiaohongshu, WeChat, and Weibo—a 20% increase. Natural Made, which leveraged last year’s event to enter the mainland, saw a 2.5-fold increase in brand exposure and product save rates on Taobao. Kenneth Lee, Marketing Lead, credited the HKTDC’s training programs for providing practical insights into platform algorithms and AI tools.
The inaugural Hong Kong Shopping Festival (ASEAN) will launch in September, with an official website and partnerships with leading e-commerce platforms Shopee and Lazada. The event will showcase over 350 products and offer a limited-time online store for Hong Kong businesses new to the region. This expansion is expected to lay a solid foundation for Hong Kong brands seeking to establish a presence in the ASEAN market.
For more details on the ASEAN edition, visit the official website at Hong Kong Shopping Festival (ASEAN).
