The year-on-year increase in retail sales in Hong Kong slowed to 0.9% in January, far below market expectations of a 6.9% increase. Lo Chun-pong, executive director of the Hong Kong Retail Management Association, believes that Hong Kong did not fully clear customs in January. Most Hong Kong people stayed in Hong Kong to spend and celebrate the New Year, so the base figure was high. However, the spending power of mainland customers declined compared to before the pandemic. Coupled with the continuing trend of Hong Kong people going north to the north, it had an impact on local retail sales, causing retail sales to rise only slightly in January. According to the Association's survey, compared with the same period in the normal year 2018, there is still a 20 to 30% gap in the surveyed members' business this year. Although there were 1.48 million visitors to Hong Kong during the Lunar New Year period, the local and travel markets are still declining compared to 2018. The main reason is that currently visitors to Hong Kong mainly travel in depth, and shopping is not a priority. However, Lo Chun-pong quoted retailers as saying that with the launch of new products and discounts on individual brands, it is expected that business and traffic will return to normal in March.