Statistics point to Hong Kong being a leading digital city in the globally connected world.
Having just returned from one of my favorite places in the world, Hong Kong, I cannot help but think about the enormous opportunity it has for the online marketing industry. Hong Kong is poised as a leading digital city in the globally connected world. Upon reading the following statistics, you'll see why.
Hong Kong’s total population is 6,727,900. Of this total population, 4,878,713 are Internet users; that is 72.5 percent of Internet penetration, according to Nielsen NetRatings. What is truly more amazing is that a mere four years ago, the Internet population was 2,283,000, signifying a growth rate of 113.7 percent from 2000 to 2004.
A number of factors have contributed to Hong Kong's high level of Internet usage, including its early connection to the Internet, in 1991, and few financial barriers. Hong Kong is one of the wealthiest economies in the world and Internet access prices are low compared to income levels (average monthly cost for 20 hours of Internet access is $16.50). The rising number of PC and cell phone purchases (according to A.T. Kearney and the Judge Institute of Management Studies, 37 percent of Internet-enabled phone owners in Hong Kong claimed to have accessed the Internet on their phones), as well as an increase in broadband have all contributed to Hong Kong’s intensifying Internet use.
According to the International Telecommunications Union, Hong Kong achieves top ranking both in broadband Internet (for which it is placed second, globally, behind the Republic of Korea) and for second-generation mobile penetration (for which it is third in the world). According to the International Telecommunications Union's 'Broadband as Community -- Hong Kong China Internet Case Study,' “In 1998, Hong Kong was one of the first economies to launch broadband services and the take-up of the high-speed technology has been impressive. Dial-up subscriptions are declining and the majority of Internet users have a high speed access.”
Nielsen NetRatings claims that 66 percent of Hong Kong households were making broadband connections as of Q2 2002, putting the country in the leading position worldwide in the number of households with broadband access. Additionally, eMarketer’s Broadband Worldwide 2004 Subscriber Update report claims that at the end of 2003, Hong Kong’s broadband subscribers reached 16 percent. eMarketer estimates that the figure will reach 23.2 percent by 2007.
Ecommerce in Hong Kong is growing as well. The number of Internet users who have purchased something online grew from 5 percent a year ago to 14 percent today according to Nielsen NetRatings. The most popular Hong Kong shopping Web sites received 20 percent more visitors in the quarter ending August 2004 compared with the corresponding period a year ago.
Yahoo! Auctions is the top ranking online shopping Web site for the quarter ending August 2004 and saw its audience increase from 325,000 unique visitors during the quarter ending August 2003 to 753,000 in the same period of 2004:
1. Yahoo! Auctions: 753,000
2. YesAsia.com: 516,000
3. eBay: 404,000
4. Yahoo! Shopping: 380,000
5. Amazon: 261,000
6. Taobao.com: 211,000
7. red-dots: 175,000
8. Go2HK: 137,000
9. PCCW Yellow Page YP Card: 128,000
10. ESDlife Shopping: 125,000
Hong Kong is well known for its communication infrastructure, having one of the best penetration rates in the world for telephones, fax machines, pagers and mobile phones. Seeing the enormous potential that Hong Kong has in the information superhighway, the government also subsidized Cyberport, a place envisioned as a hub for information technology development and commerce, almost a mini version of Silicon Valley (Microsoft has an office in this complex).
It is evident there is huge opportunity for marketers -- not only in the United States but in other countries as well -- to tailor their marketing messages to the Hong Kong market. With its growing Internet population, ecommerce trends, and rising multi-marketing platforms (Internet enables mobile phones and wireless devices), it is most definitely a true representation of Asia’s online marketing potential. More important, Hong Kong is the financial and commercial gateway to China and, in my previous article -- “China: Land of Opportunity” [4485]-- I highlighted the importance of including this country in your online marketing plan. For those of you who have not read this article, the two most important statistics to consider are:
• With a population of 1.3 billion, China is the biggest country in the world
• China's online shopping market was worth 4.2 billion yuan (US$507.5 million) last year according to market research firm, Shanghai iResearch, and is expected to double this year.
Elizabeth M. Lloyd mailto:Elizabeth@netblue.com is the director of corporate marketing for Netblue, Inc., an online direct marketing company based in Silicon Valley. Previously, Lloyd was the director of marketing for opt-in email provider, NetCreations, in New York City. Prior to NetCreations, Lloyd was responsible for the PR department of ValueClick, Inc.