Hong Kongers spend the most money during Christmas of all the holiday seasons studied by Visa

10/03/2019

• Twelve weeks: The time it takes for the average Hong Kongers from the purchase of air tickets to the first day of their Christmas holidays1
• Visa Holiday Study, powered by Visa Consulting & Analytics, looks at Hong Kongers’ favourite holidays and what, where and how they spend their money using Visa’s proprietary and anonymised data analytics

 

Christmas accounted for 18 percent of total holiday spending of Hong Kongers, the most among the holiday periods studied by Visa, the leading global payments technology company.

Visa’s research also found that the average purchase lead times for travelers going on Christmas holiday are about 12 weeks or 82 days for airfare and 89 days for accommodation. This makes today October 3 the day the average Hong Kong holidaymakers will book their air tickets, if they plan to leave on Christmas Eve, December 24.

The Visa Holiday Study2 analysed anonymised data from VisaNet, one of the world’s largest electronic payments networks, with the capacity to process more than 65,000 transactions per second.3 The goal is to better understand Hong Kong consumers’ spending habits and preferences during holiday periods so to create and improve payment solutions and offers in collaboration with Visa’s partners.  

Maaike Steinebach, Visa General Manager, Hong Kong and Macau: “At Visa, we always look for ways to add values to our end-users. We do this by harnessing the data that flow through VisaNet in the most secure and ethical ways. Visa Consulting & Analytics team will analyse the data – all anonymised with no way for Visa to identify the individuals – to enhance our offers and services for customers throughout their travel journeys.”

Top 5 Holidays as Measured by Consumer Spending4

Rank

Holiday

Percentage of Total Holiday Spending

1

Christmas

18.5%

2

Chinese New Year

18%

3

New Year Day

16%

4

Easter

11%

5

Hong Kong SAR Day

10%

 

The most popular holidays as measured by consumer spending from most to least were Christmas, Chinese New Year, New Year Day, Easter, Hong Kong SAR Day, Buddha’s Birthday, Ching Ming and Tuen Ng.

Average daily spend was greatest during New Year holiday period, with Hong Kong Visa cardholders spending as much as HKD 1,162 million (USD 149 million) per day. Christmas’ daily spending topped HKD 1,084 million (USD 139 million) per day in 2018. The remaining holidays were long weekends, with average spending at HKD 874 million (USD 112 million) per day.  

Average spend per transaction was highest during New Year as well at HKD 928 (USD 119) per transaction, followed by Christmas at HKD 825 (USD 108), pointing to how the cooling weather and festive mood can perhaps loosen the purse strings. Like average daily spend, the remaining holidays averaged about HKD 663 (USD 85) per transaction, a slightly smaller ticket size.


Where Was the Money Spent: Top Ten Consumption Categories5

Rank

Consumption Categories

Percentage of Total Holiday Spend

1

General Retail

14%

2

Restaurants

12%

3

Food and Grocery

9.0%

=4

Utilities and Telecommunications

7.9%

=4

Professional Services

7.9%

6

Apparel and Accessories

7.0%

7

Travel Services

4.8%

8

Entertainment

4.7%

9

Healthcare

4.0%

10

Home Improvement and Supply

3.7%

 

Since nearly all holidays are social occasions, it comes as no surprise that gift-giving, whether for oneself or others, and dining related activities saw the most spending among Hong Kong consumers.

 

Top Holiday Destinations by Spending (in HKD)
Macau SAR accounts for one-fifth (20 percent) of total face-to-face holiday spending by Hong Kong holidaymakers with the largest average spend per customer’s Visa account or card at HKD 8,638 (USD 1,107). This is followed by Japan (18 percent), Taiwan (6.0 percent), Mainland China (5.5 percent), and the United States (5.5 percent).

Rank

Destination

Percentage of Total Holiday  Spend

 

Rank

Destination

Average Spend per Customer per Account6 (HKD)

 

Rank

Destination

Average Spend per Transaction (HKD)

1

Macau SAR

20%

 

1

Macau SAR

8,638

 

1

Macau SAR

4,669

2

Japan

18%

 

2

France

8,049

 

2

France

1,990

3

Taiwan

6.0%

 

3

Japan

5,367

 

3

Mainland China

1,948

=4

Mainland China

5.5%

 

4

USA

5,104

 

4

Japan

1,467

=4

USA

5.5%

 

5

UK

4,151

 

5

Taiwan

1,277

6

UK

4.8%

 

6

Australia

3,706

 

6

Thailand

1,239

7

Thailand

4.7%

 

7

South Korea

3,671

 

7

USA

1,043

8

South Korea

3.8%

 

8

Thailand

3,308

 

8

South Korea

959

9

France

3.6%

 

9

Taiwan

3,305

 

9

UK

905

10

Australia

3.5%

 

10

Mainland China

3,090

 

10

Australia

721

Source: VisaNet, Dec 2018 to Jun 2019

 

 

1 Based on anonymized VisaNet data, Visa Consulting & Analytics came up with the purchase lead time the average consumer in Hong Kong will book their air tickets. For travelers leaving on December 24, it would be October 3 – or 82 days of purchase lead time.

2 The Holiday Study looks at eight public holiday periods including weekends: Christmas, New Year, Chinese New Year, Easter, Hong Kong SAR Day, Buddha’s Birthday, Ching Ming, and Tuen Ng. The VisaNet data analyzed are from the period of December 2018 to June 2019.

3 Annually VisaNet processed a total of USD 11.5 trillion (as of June 30, 2019).

4,5 Total holiday spending includes both domestic and cross-border transactions happened during the eight holiday periods. “General retail” includes purchases made at department stores, cosmetic stores, jewelers, and shop selling general retail products, but excluding pharmacies, discount stores and apparel and accessories shops. “Professional services” include transactions such as mobile wallet top-up and cash advancement.

6 Average spend per customer’s Visa account or card. A customer can also have multiple Visa cards and/or accounts. Therefore, the average spend per customer can be higher.  

 

About Visa Consulting & Analytics

Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA) is the payments consulting arm of Visa. VCA is a global team of several hundred payments consultants and data scientists. VCA consists of experts in strategy, product, portfolio management, risk, digital and more, with decades of experience in the payments industry. The consultants work closely with data scientists, who are experts in statistics, advanced analytics and machine learning with exclusive access to insights from VisaNet, one of the largest payment networks in the world. The combination of deep payments consulting expertise and breadth of data allows VCA to identify actionable insights and recommendations that drive better business decisions.

About Visa

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network—enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of connected commerce on any device, and a driving force behind the dream of a cashless future for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit www.Visa.com.hk and @VisaNews.