Greater China luxury sales such as jewelry and other luxury items rose in the first half of the year amid continued positive consumer sentiment and increased tourism to Hong Kong.
In China luxury, retail sales of gold, silver and jewelry grew 7% to $20.26 billion (CNY 138.3 billion) in the six months ending June 30, the National Bureau of Statistics of China reported recently. Sales in June climbed 8% to $3.24 billion (CNY 22.1 billion).
Meanwhile, Hong Kong recorded a 24% jump in the first six months of the year for sales of jewelry, watches, clocks and other valuable gifts to $5.53 billion (HKD 43.44 billion), according to data the Census and Statistics Department released Wednesday. Sales in the category soared 28% to $884.3 million (HKD 6.94 billion) in June.
Total retail sales in all sectors for China increased 9% to $2.64 trillion (CNY 18 trillion) in the first half, and in June rose 9% to $451.71 billion (CNY 3.08 trillion). In Hong Kong, combined sales grew 13% to $31.56 billion (HKD 247.76 billion) for the January-to-June period, and leapt 12% to $4.81 billion (HKD 37.77 billion) in June.
“Retail sales value sustained double-digit growth over a year earlier in June, as local consumer sentiment stayed favorable amid a tight labor market, while visitor arrivals continued to record solid growth,” a Hong Kong government spokesperson said.
The retail outlook for Hong Kong remains positive as both the employment rate and income levels continue to flourish, and tourism maintains its upward trend. However, the government continues to monitor “heightened external uncertainties” that may have an effect on consumer spending and sentiment moving forward, the spokesperson added.
In June, the total number of tourists to Hong Kong rose 13% year on year to 4.7 million, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Of those visitors, 3.6 million came from mainland China. In the first half of the year, the number of tourists rose 10% to 30.6 million, with 23.7 million of those arriving from the mainland.