Hong Kong's Unhealthy Shopping Habit

Hong Kong people's preoccupation with shopping hardly keeps them happy

Ah Greenpeace has another survey out -- this time it's about how Hong Kong people are the most obsessed in the world when it comes to shopping.

In the non-profit group's survey of 5,000 people in Hong Kong, the mainland, Taiwan, Italy and Germany, we scored first or second in 10 out of 12 indicators showing a tendency to spend excessively on material goods as well as an unhealthy reliance on shopping.

The questionnaire, which was conducted from the end of last year to early this year showed Hong Kong topped the charts on a number of indicators, such as admitting they owned more clothes than they needed, and consumers who had tried to conceal their shopping sprees.

Fifty-three percent of 1,000 Hong Kong people owned clothes that were still tagged, compared to 51 percent of those on the mainland, 46 percent in Italy, 41 percent in Germany, and 40 percent in Taiwan.

Numerous ads and signs entice people to shop daily

"It's nothing new that Hong Kong people are addicted to shopping, but we didn't think that Hong Kong would rank as one of the tops in the world," says Greenpeace campaigner Bonnie Tang Man-lam.

Mainland Chinese scored similar points to Hong Kong in most indicators.

While the survey didn't go into why Hong Kong scored so high, but Tang explained it was because of the city's values and lifestyle centered on consumerism.

"Most people said their feelings of satisfaction from shopping only lasted a day, and they would then shop again just to fill that empty void. The more they shop, the lonelier they got," she says.

Are Hong Kong people really that sad? Though I do know some people who really do depend on shopping to make them happy, which is a sad, endless cycle that goes nowhere except an empty bank account.

But stores like 759 are downsizing with shelves going empty

However, most people can't help but be sucked into buying things with the number of advertisements they are bombarded with daily, along with seeing what their friends are purchasing and showing off on social media.

That said, shops from luxury brands to small boutiques are downsizing or closing because it isn't economically viable anymore. My favourite greeting card shop Prints is closing down its several locations around town, while some 759 stores are gradually closing down with shelves of snacks and foods are getting barer by the day.

It's a sad state of affairs really -- shopaholics should get a life, while retailers can't make enough to pay the rent. This is Hong Kong, 2017.

Beware the QR Code

You can buy supermarket items just by scanning the QR codes on your phone

China seemed to be far ahead of Hong Kong in terms of using QR codes for mobile transactions. Even food stalls have QR codes to make it easier to make payments via smartphones to buy something as simple as a roasted sweet potato.

But now there are concerns some QR codes, which stands for quick response codes, are easy faked with a different code with malevolent software to make it easy for fraudsters to get access to your bank account.

Consumers can also buy street food by scanning the QR code

There has been a spate of scams regarding QR codes on the mainland, which has led to calls for the government do more to protect consumers.

The problem is that the QR codes are so hard to tell if they are fake by the human eye, which makes it easier for cybercriminals to take advantage of the situation -- and legitimate businesses lose money because the payments never reach them.

Liu Qingfeng, a senior Chinese official and technology expert, says almost one-quarter of Trojans -- malicious programs disguised as benign software -- and other viruses are transmitted through QR codes.

"Currently over 23 percent of Trojans and viruses are transmitted via QR codes," he said at the recent National People's Congress in Beijing. "The [difficulty] threshold to make QR codes is so low that fraudsters could implant Trojans and viruses into a QR code very easily," Liu said.

"On the other hand, consumers cannot verify the authenticity of QR codes by eye and are therefore prone to be deceived if criminals paste their fake code over the original one."

A woman rents a bike by paying through the QR code

Liu is calling for regulators to tighten their oversight of QR codes by bringing them under the National Security Law.

He added that although QR codes have helped increase consumption, the possibility of fake codes has deterred others from using this otherwise payment method.

With an almost 25 percent chance of this happening on a daily basis, surely this has put off some people from scanning QR codes. Hopefully it doesn't make too much of an impact on small vendors, as this kind of payment system has definitely helped them generate revenue in a convenient high-tech way.

Time to Give Up Materialistic Culture

Lots and lots of clothes that are bought and thrown out every year

According to a survey by environmental group Greenpeace, Hong Kong residents spend about HK$10,000 (US$1,290) a year on clothing.

This means the average person spends about HK$800 a month on clothes, and if every person in Hong Kong spent around the same amount, that would add up to HK$25 billion a year on new threads.

Hong Kong people spend twice as much on clothes compared to their Taiwanese counterparts, according to the survey of 2,000 people, half from Taiwan, the other half from Hong Kong.

Chinese New Year means new clothes to wear

Usually the third to last day of the lunar new year, or in this case January 25, is supposed to be for spring cleaning, making it a good time to take de-clutter. However, it is also the new year custom to buy new clothes, typically red ones to wear in the first few days of the Lunar New Year.

The survey also found 40 percent of the 1,000 people surveyed in Hong Kong could only resist the urge to shop less than a week, whereas for Taiwanese it was 22 percent.

Bonnie Tang Man-lam of Greenpeace said this was due to Hong Kong's focus on consumer culture, with people unable to resist two-for-one sales tactics or free shipping. She added friends and social media also influenced people to buy on impulse.

Some 60 percent of those surveyed admitted the satisfaction of shopping only lasted a day, creating a cycle to need to fill a void.

But perhaps it's time to de-clutter instead?

Another fact that came to our attention is that Hong Kong has 885 mini storage facilities. Imagine how many lockers that would be, and surely a number of them filled with personal items like clothes.

Folks -- it's time to be ruthless and really start paring down our closets and getting rid of what we don't need and giving them to the less fortunate who would appreciate extra clothing, or other items.

Maybe it's time for Hong Kong to stop its obsession with materialism and perhaps focus on the community? We'd all be better for it in so many ways.