'Shopping festival to boost HK presence on mainland'

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) on Wednesday unveiled details of the inaugural Hong Kong Shopping Festival which aims to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) expand their reach in the mainland's e-commerce market. With the mainland's online retail sales hitting 15.4 trillion renminbi (US$2.12 trillion) in the past year – a year on year increase of 11 percent – the festival provides an opportunity for Hong Kong businesses to tap into the booming market, allowing SMEs to leverage extensive visitor traffic and diverse customer bases to enhance their visibility. The festival will feature over 230 brands offering discounts across categories such as apparel, food, personal care products and more. HKTDC Assistant Executive Director Stephen Liang said the initiative will provide SMEs with practical experience in navigating the mainland's e-commerce landscape. "It's a very good opportunity for [SMEs] to learn about how the mainland e-commerce operates and at the same time introduce them to more KOLs to create exposure," Liang said. The festival will take place for the entire month of August and will include large digital promotions on platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Douyin, as well as live-stream events. "For the mainland e-commerce platforms, they have different ways to market their products, they use different slogans ... and different ways to drive traffic," said Liang.