Published: 18:15, August 4, 2026
Hong Kong's retail sales rise for 14th straight month in June
By Wang Zhan in Hong Kong

Tourists walk on a shopping street in Hong Kong on May 4, 2026. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)

The value of Hong Kong’s total retail sales in June, provisionally estimated at HK$31.5 billion ($4.01 billion), rose by 4.6 percent year-on-year, increasing for the 14th consecutive month, official data showed on Tuesday.

The provisional estimate of the volume of total retail sales in June 2026 increased by 2.3 percent compared with a year earlier after netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, according to data from the Census and Statistics Department.

A Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government spokesman said that the latest retail sales figures indicate that the sector remains on a positive trajectory, with the total retail sales value in the first half of the year was 9.6 percent higher than a year earlier.

Online sales accounted for 9.4 percent of the total retail sales value in June. The value of online retail sales in that month, provisionally estimated at HK$3.0 billion, rose 11.6 percent year-on-year.

For the first half of 2026, it was provisionally estimated that the value of online retail sales increased by 27.7 percent compared with the same period in 2025.

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The value of sales of jewelry, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts increased by 20.1 in June, according to the data.

This was followed by sales of other consumer goods not elsewhere classified (up 9.3 percent in value); food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco (up 2.5 percent); wearing apparel (up 0.8 percent); medicines and cosmetics (up 0.6 percent); electrical goods and other consumer durable goods not elsewhere classified (up 11.3 percent); furniture and fixtures (up 5.1 percent); books, newspapers, stationery and gifts (up 2.6 percent); and optical shops (up 2.1 percent).

The HKSAR government spokesman said growth was broad-based across many retail categories, adding that continued economic expansion, rising local incomes, and a steady increase in inbound visitors are expected to provide support to the sector.

Hong Kong recorded 26.71 million visitor arrivals in the first six months of 2026, an increase of 13 percent compared with the same period last year, the Hong Kong Tourism Board said last month.

The spokesman added that external uncertainties constitute a downside risk and the HKSAR government will continue to closely monitor their potential impact on local consumption.