Uber Eats is a US online food ordering and delivery platform. Together with Foodpanda and Deliveroo, it provides on-demand services in the hectic city where people expect their meals to be sent at the doorsteps. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Hong Kong is falling way behind other economies, including the Chinese mainland, in the development of the on-demand services that are rewriting the lives of many people, especially the younger generation.

Now, some of the largest on-demand service providers are tapping the stock markets for new funding that can allow them to grow even larger. Ride-hailing service provider Lyft, for example, just went public in New York, and the success of its IPO is expected to embolden similar companies that follow suit, including Uber.

Indeed, more and more young people in cities are turning their backs on car ownership, cable TV, cinemas and restaurants. They also don’t shop for groceries and clothing at supermarkets and department stores as frequently as before. Instead, they either ride a bicycle for short-distance travel, or hail a ride at Uber or Lyft if they need to go across town. When the occasion calls for a fancy meal, these young folks are likely to call Deliveroo or Uber Eats to bring food from the restaurants of their choice to their homes.

Shopping for groceries at the supermarket is a daunting chore when you don’t have a car. But who needs a car when you can have almost anything you want delivered to your home or office, sometimes on the same day, by ordering online at Amazon?

Many millennials in the US and some other developed economies have abandoned cable TV while they watch their favorite programs and movies streamed to their devices. The subscriber bases, numbering in the tens of millions, of streaming service providers such as Netflix are expanding. This is attracting some of the largest technology companies with deep pockets, like Apple, to compete for a share of the pie.

Hong Kong has all that. But none of the on-demand service providers can match the level of service and the choice of products at prices that are offered by their overseas counterparts. Even if you find the product that you want on the list, you may balk at the extra charges and the unclear delivery schedules.

The return policies of many service providers are clearly stacked against the buyers. I once bought a device from an online store. It was dead on arrival, and my demand for a replacement was never answered.

The slow launch of on-demand services in Hong Kong has been attributed to various factors and limitations. It is often said that the convenience of shopping in compact Hong Kong has rendered such services unnecessary.

We beg to differ. If online stores can provide better services at competitive prices without add-on charges, many consumers will certainly choose them for the greater convenience. Nobody enjoys hauling a bag of groceries home, even if the store is just around the corner.