|
Hong Kong has long been known as the “shoppers’ paradise”, but a newly published survey found that customer satisfaction ratings of Hong Kong's retail sector had dropped across the board in recent months.
In the five major determinants of customer perceived value of Hong Kong retailers, the “(shopping) effort” index in August this year had dropped by the largest margin of 3.4 points from the previous survey in February. It means customers did not get the kind of caring service, they had expected while shopping, such as not enough shop attendants who speak Putonghua, having to wait too long to foot the bill and products lacked uniqueness. The findings indicate Hong Kong should be worried about the integrity of its “shoppers’ paradise” fame.
Launched by the Asian Centre for Brand Management (ACBM) of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2004, the Customers’ Perceived Value of Hong Kong's Retail Sector research project conducted seven surveys so far and in the latest one conducted between July and August interviewed 3,554 shoppers from the mainland and foreign countries as well as Hong Kong. The research report analyses five dimensions that determine customers' perceived value of Hong Kong's retail sector: shop environment, service, merchandise, effort and price.
The survey found that Hong Kong retail sector's proficiency in Putonghua and English had deteriorated since the last canvassing and English proficiency had lost ground in all seven categories. ACBM Director Luk Ting-kwong said some shops had only one sales person while some others hired only one attendant who can speak Putonghua. That means one employee had to serve all customers from the mainland, resulting in the latter having to spend more energy shopping. ■春生 資深翻譯員
|
