The second edition of the Happy Hong Kong Shopping Festival, offering privileges and free gifts valued at HK$1.2 billion ($153.68 million) across dining, shopping, entertainment, accommodation, and transportation, will kick off on Monday in a bid to boost the city’s faltering consumption.

The shopping festival, which runs from July 1 through August 31, will feature an “unprecedented lineup of merchants and products, surpassing expectations”, said Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po at the launch ceremony of Enjoy Hong Kong Privileges, Courtesy on Thursday, held by the Hong Kong Retail Management Association.

The shopping festival is a joint effort among 10 sectors — retail, dining, tourism, exhibitions and conventions, shopping malls, hotels, cross-border transportation, banking, government organizations and e-payment platforms — to boost the market’s spending power

“All participating merchants will provide free gifts and consumption vouchers without spending thresholds,” Chan added. “Coupled with high-quality products, attentive services, and thoughtful offerings, we believe this will stimulate heightened consumer demand.”

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Over 160 brands and more than 5,000 stores will offer a wealth of privileges on numerous fronts, from limited-edition gifts, cash coupons, and shopping discounts to vouchers and buy-one-get-one-free promotions, catering to both Hong Kong residents and tourists.

Among the promotion highlights, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council will give away 4,000 admission tickets to exhibitions held in August, while McDonald’s will distribute 10,000 free cups of its signature coconut milk latte on Wednesday.

Digital payment platforms, including AlipayHK, BoC Pay, PayMe, and WeChatPay, will offer discounts and promotions from participating merchants. American Express offers up to an HK$80 rebate upon spending at designated merchants.

This year’s event features a voting activity for Hong Kong courtesy stores, in which customers who successfully vote for a specified number of stores via the HKRMA voting website or AI Lens app will be rewarded with free Now TV shows, Now TV movie rental coupons, or online shopping coupons.

The voting activity is part of a hospitality campaign launched by the HKRMA, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government and the Hong Kong Tourism Board, aiming to elevate service standards and bolstering Hong Kong’s status as a paradise for shopping experiences, said Annie Tse Yau On-yee, chairwoman of the HKRMA.

Livestream e-commerce will be introduced to the shopping festival in July.

“This year year’s shopping festival showcases the collaborative spirit among sectors. Over the past year, the retail industry has been facing many new challenges, as in other industries where the operating environment is undergoing drastic changes,” Yau said.

The shopping festival is a joint effort among 10 sectors — retail, dining, tourism, exhibitions and conventions, shopping malls, hotels, cross-border transportation, banking, government organizations and e-payment platforms — to boost the market’s spending power.

Chan said Hong Kong has welcomed over 18 million visitors in the first five months of this year, and the upcoming shopping festival is expected to attract an additional 1.7 million tourists, potentially generating around HK$7 billion in consumption.

READ MORE: Cheng: Hong Kong can still be a shoppers' paradise

The number of Chinese mainland cities taking part in the Individual Visit Scheme — which allows tourists to stay in Hong Kong or Macao for up to seven days at a time — has been expanded to 59, covering all provincial capitals across the mainland, Chan noted. “We hope this will bring more overnight visitors, benefiting local retail, dining, and hotel industries.”

Hong Kong’s retail, catering, and tourism businesses have encountered bumps in their post-pandemic recovery, with daunting consumption power among visitors and the total tourist arrivals in May still a fraction of what they were before the pandemic.

The city’s retail sales tumbled 14.7 percent year-on-year, or HK$29.6 billion, in a second consecutive month of decline in April, following a 7 percent drop in March.

Contact the writer at tianyuanzhang@chinadailyhk.com