As of June 1, the Liantang Checkpoint in Luohu District had handled over 10 million entries and exits this year, with an average daily passenger flow of 65,000 people, a year-on-year increase of 63%, according to the checkpoint authority yesterday.
Among the total, 7.7 million trips were made by Hong Kong and Macao residents, a year-on-year increase of 273%, while 1.95 million were made by residents from the Chinese mainland, a 115% year-on-year increase.
The significant increase in cross-border traffic serves as a compelling testament to the burgeoning boom in two-way consumer spending between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
Since the beginning of 2023, the growing trend of Hong Kong residents "heading north" to Shenzhen to experience a wide range of less expensive and novel consumer activities has been gaining attention.
Simultaneously, a noteworthy trend is unfolding as certain Shenzhen brands — predominantly in the catering industry — are contemplating the establishment of outlets in Hong Kong.
This burgeoning two-way consumer spending dynamic between Shenzhen and Hong Kong is steadily evolving into a norm of daily life.
Zhi Dongliang, head of the South China retail service department of Savills, a global real estate company, said Hong Kong is becoming the first stop for mainland brands who wish to venture overseas. Currently, more than 20 well-known brands on the mainland, including some in Shenzhen, have already opened stores in Hong Kong, like Haidilao hot pot, Tai Er Pickled Fish, HeyTea, Manner Coffee, and Mixue ice cream and tea.
However, due to different consumer habits, there is still room for improvement in enhancing the consumer experience of Hong Kong visitors in Shenzhen, Zhi said. For example, older Hong Kong visitors who try to hail a passing taxi may find that it refuses to pick up them because it has been prebooked on a ride-hailing platform. He said what makes him happy is that some services such as WeChat DiDi Taxi are already available for Hong Kong residents to use.
In addition, the wide use of payment apps on the mainland may require some Hong Kong visitors to adjust or change their payment behaviors and habits to travel and shop more smoothly, according to Zhi.