HONG KONG - Practitioners and experts in Hong Kong’s e-commerce and logistics industry are hoping that the first Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area online shopping festival will help revive Hong Kong’s pandemic-hit economy and boost local e-commerce.

The three-week event will run from 3 pm today through Sept 22, with over 13 million items of more than 298,000 brands to be offered at promotional prices. Launched by mainland authorities, the fair will line up products such as snacks, cosmetics, digital gadgets, and home appliances on popular e-commerce platforms. 

The three-week event will serve mainland consumers’ demand for high-quality Hong Kong and Macao products, Lam Chi-wing, director of the Hong Kong eCommerce Research Centre, said

Celebrities and entrepreneurs are expected to use livestream sessions to promote goods made by companies based in the Greater Bay Area.

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With a population of over 86 million in 2020 and GDP of US$1.67 trillion, the region is among the most economically vibrant in China. The nine mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area are home to many popular Chinese brands. 

As more shoppers switch to online shopping during the pandemic, Lam Chi-wing, director of the Hong Kong eCommerce Research Centre, said the upcoming event will help the retail industry in Hong Kong and Macao expand their marketing networks. 

It will also serve mainland consumers’ demand for high-quality Hong Kong and Macao products, Lam said.

What’s more, it is a good opportunity for retailers and enterprises in Hong Kong to learn about the e-commerce model and market on the mainland, Lam said, adding that it will help them innovate their sales model and upgrade supporting services, such as those in logistics, payments and marketing.

Noting the high quality of products and the steep discounts offered during the event, Lam said that he will watch the opening ceremony and buy some home appliances and clothes.

Ng Kwong, chairman of the Hong Kong Courier Association, said he expects the shopping event to help Hong Kong’s logistics industry expand the scale of its business. The Greater Bay Area offers a much larger market than the city’s market of 7 million people, Ng said.

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Ng said that as cross-border e-commerce flourishes, Hong Kong’s logistics industry will benefit from the booming mainland market. He also hopes the event will help youngsters aspiring to a career in the logistics industry find more opportunities.

Cheng Pang-cheung, a young Hong Kong entrepreneur behind a Shenzhen-based media company with livestream e-commerce business, said he believes the festival will fuel Hong Kong people’s enthusiasm for online shopping.

He said he hopes the event will help Hong Kong’s e-commerce industry gain more public attention and secure more resources and policy support.

Contact the writers at shumanchen@chinadailyhk.com