Posted by Hong Kong, 21 November 2022 — Carousell, the leading recommerce group in Greater Southeast Asia, today released the results of its latest consumer survey. The survey, which set out to explore the spending habits of Hong Kong consumers during times of economic decline, found that over 80% of consumers have increased their secondhand shopping during the most recent macro-financial downturn, and that 86% of respondents over 45 years of age shop for secondhand items every three months on average. Overall results of the survey reveal an increased openness towards secondhand options.
“Carousell stays committed to supporting our local community in challenging times, and we are aware that the economic downturn is affecting spending habits of consumers in Hong Kong,” says Kevin Huang, Managing Director of Carousell Hong Kong. “We are delighted to witness the rise of value for secondhand items in consumers’ eyes, and have become top-of-mind in their purchase journey. Carousell is determined to provide a trusted and user-friendly platform for consumers and merchants in order to inspire and empower secondhand purchases. In addition, we want to make it easier for consumers to find high-quality secondhand goods, not only to save money, but also to promote a more sustainable way of living.”
Preloved items trends during consumers’ purchase considerations
The survey reveals 62% of respondents consider buying more secondhand items during times of economic decline, with close to 90% of respondents stating they feel positive-to-neutral towards the idea of secondhand items. The top three categories that come into consumers’ minds when considering secondhand purchases include hobbies and toys, furniture and home living and video games. 76% of surveyed consumers over 45 years old considered purchasing preloved furniture, which shows that the idea of buying preloved items often ranges from the more portable items all the way to larger home necessities.
90% of respondents believed secondhand goods are essentially interchangeable with new goods, survey finds
The survey also looks into the reasons behind the increase in purchases of secondhand items despite the macro-financial environment. In terms of appearance and function, over 90% of respondents believe that secondhand goods are essentially interchangeable with new goods. Secondhand items successfully tap into the current trend that consumers care about most: they are cost-effective and sustainable.
- Value for money is the prime motivation for Hong Kong consumers to purchase secondhand goods. According to 53% of respondents, buying secondhand goods can help them save at least HK$1,000 annually. Nearly 10% of respondents even believe they would be likely to save more than HK$5,000.
- 81% of Hong Kong consumers cite “still usable” as one of the top three reasons for buying secondhand goods. The surveyed consumers tend not to waste used items and frequently accept preloved goods as part of an environmentally-friendly lifestyle.
To complement the above, over 60% of respondents enjoy the experience of purchasing secondhand items, saying that it is easier nowadays to buy items on digital marketplace platforms like Carousell. In fact, over 70% of surveyed consumers over 45 years old find buying secondhand items online more convenient, proving that a love for efficiency is one of the key drivers for the older generation adopting the rising trend of purchasing secondhand products.
“Masters of secondhand” campaign promotes the resourcefulness of buying preloved items
For the third consecutive calendar year, Carousell is launching a brand campaign to promote alternative spending habits during the year-end peak sale season, wherein promotions during Singles’ Day, thanksgiving and Christmas entice consumers to spend impulsively and encourage overconsumption. Combining Carousell’s continued emphasis on sustainable shopping habits, Hong Kong consumers’ love for efficiency and value consciousness, with prudent budgeting due to recession concerns, Carousell is launching a “Masters of secondhand” brand campaign to promote the resourcefulness of buying preloved items.
The creative campaign rides on Hong Kongers’ love for learning the latest life hacks and tips, from academic purposes to every aspect of life. Carousell is therefore sharing tips and benefits of shopping secondhand during this campaign, and showing how this purchasing behaviour can relate to consumer concerns about cost-efficiency and sustainability in our daily lives.
To make this campaign more relatable and highlight that everyone and anyone can shop smart, Carousell has invited four Carousell users Jessica Shih (@valjess), Melissa Leung (@mel_leung), Desiree Wong (@desiree_dd) and Chris Leung (@cleungg) to share their real life examples in a series of ads, promoting how Carousell supports a more sustainable way of consumption.
Jess Shih, Studio Director at RE/NATION, has been a long-time user of Carousell, especially for buying sportswear for her job. She said: “Brand new items usually come first in people’s mind when buying sportswear, but after using Carousell, I realise I can still buy branded items that are in like-new condition where money is saved and is more sustainable.”
Melissa Leung, an Associate Director at a real estate company who has been a long-time user of Carousell, was recently able to get a sofa for her home for free. Sharing her experience, Melissa said: “Recently I got this sofa for free as the owner felt bad throwing it away. The sofa is as new as a brand new item and it does not even have a scratch on it. Imagine if this sofa was thrown to the landfill, that would be a total waste. This Carousell experience makes me realise there is a more sustainable way of buying items.”
For more information about this campaign and to find out how to sign up for the workshop, please visit https://carousell.app.link/MastersofSecondhand2022 .
About the survey
The survey collects feedback from 197 local Carousell users from 19 – 26 October 2022 to understand their shopping behaviour in the past year.
About Carousell
Carousell is the leading recommerce group in Greater Southeast Asia on a mission to inspire the world to start selling, and to make second-hand the first choice. Founded in August 2012 in Singapore, the group has a leading presence in eight markets under the brands Carousell, Mudah.my, Cho Tot, OneKyat, Ox Street and Refash, serving tens of millions of monthly active users. Carousell is backed by leading investors, including Telenor Group, Rakuten Ventures, Naver, STIC Investments and Sequoia Capital India. In Hong Kong, Carousell has a diverse range of products in over 30 categories, including property, autos, electronics, home and furniture, and fashion. Download the app for iOS or Android, and visit http://www.carousell.com.hk for more information.
Carousell調查揭示：逾80%消費者在經濟低迷時購買更多二手商品
同步推出「全民二手師」計畫，推廣精明及可持續的消費習慣
香港，2022年11月21日 – 大東南亞區領先分類買賣平台Carousell今天發布最新的消費者調查結果，旨在探討香港消費者在經濟低迷時的消費習慣。數據顯示，面對近期的環球經濟現況，超過 80% 消費者較以往購買更多二手商品。而 45歲以上受訪者當中，更有 86%人士平均每三個月購買一次二手商品。整體調查結果均顯示，消費者對二手商品的接受程度有所提高。
Carousell 香港董事總經理黃俊仁表示：「Carousell 了解經濟環境會影響港人的消費習慣，因而致力於在經濟困難時期支援本地社群。我們樂見消費者越趨重視二手商品的價值，並在購物過程中把二手商品視為首選。 Carousell 希望為消費者和商戶提供方便可靠的平台，啟發及成就用戶進行二手買賣。同時，我們希望幫助用戶更容易找到高質素的二手商品，節省金錢之餘，亦推廣可持續消費模式。」
消費者優先考慮二手商品
調查顯示，62% 受訪者表示在經濟衰退期間考慮購買更多二手商品，而近 90% 受訪者對二手商品抱持正面至中立態度。消費者在考慮購買二手商品時，最先想到的三個類別是：電子遊戲、傢俬及家居和興趣及遊戲，而45歲以上受訪者當中，更有高達76%人表示考慮購買二手傢俬，顯示消費者不但會考慮購買便攜的二手物品，更會把體積較大的家庭用品納入考慮。
調查顯示90%受訪者認為二手商品與全新商品落差不大
有見即使宏觀經濟不景氣，二手商品的銷量仍然有增無減，是次調查亦有探討箇中原因。數據顯示，逾90%受訪者認為二手商品在外觀和功能上與全新商品落差不大。二手商品性價比高，而且符合可持續發展原則，正正符合消費者現時最關心的趨勢。
- 物有所值是推動港人購買二手商品的最大因素。 53% 受訪者表示，購買二手商品每年可節省最少港幣 1,000 元，近10% 受訪者甚至認為有可能節省超過港幣5,000 元
- 81%受訪者把「仍然完好無損」列為購買二手商品的三大理由之一。受訪者選擇不浪費用過的物品，並把使用二手物品視為實踐環保生活方式的一部分
此外，超過 60% 受訪者表示享受二手買賣體驗，亦認為Carousell等平台有助改善二手買賣交易。45歲以上受訪者當中，亦有超過 70% 認為現時購買二手商品較以往方便，證明便捷、效率高的交易流程有助推動年長消費者接受二手商品。
召集「全民二手師」 推廣精明二手消費
Carousell 連續第三年在年終購物旺季推出品牌活動，在「雙十一」、感恩節及聖誕促銷熱潮下，鼓勵消費者購買二手商品作替代方案，避免衝動及過度消費。Carousell致力推廣可持續消費習慣，有見近年本地消費者著重交易效率及商品價值，於經濟低迷下變得更審慎消費，因此推出「全民二手師」計劃，宣傳二手商品的價值，推動精明消費。
香港人喜歡學習生活小知識，並從學術層面推至生活日常。Carousell將計畫創意理念建基於此，在是次計畫中分享二手購物的技巧及好處，宣揚二手商品性價比高，而且兼具環保效益，從而滿足消費者日常生活中的考慮因素。
為增加計劃與大眾的互動，並帶出所有人都能成為精明的消費者，Carousell邀請了四位用戶石怡娟 Jess (@valjess)，梁敏妍 Melissa (@mel_leung)，湜澄媽 Desiree (@desiree_dd) 及 梁世鈞 Chris (@cleungg) 以廣告形式分享真實的二手購物體驗。
RE/NATION創辦人及私人教練石怡娟小姐（Jess），使用Carousell多於三年時間。最近榮升媽媽的她，經常在Carousell上購買運動服裝，以便工作所需。Jess指出：「大家購買運動服裝時都會傾向選擇全新產品，但當我使用Carousell後發現，原來在Carousell也可以購買到像全新一樣的品牌運動服裝，既便宜又具持續性。」
房地產項目副總監梁敏妍小姐（Melissa） ，也是Carousell的忠實用戶，近日更成功在Carousell羅致免費的梳化。Melissa分享她的經驗時指出：「近日在Carousell發現一名賣家不捨得將梳化丟掉。該梳化有如新的一樣，完全沒有使用痕跡，試幻想如該梳化被運送至堆填區會有多可惜呢！這次的購買經驗令我發現，原來真的存在可持續的購買經驗。」
有關更多計畫詳情，請瀏覽 https://carousell.app.link/MastersofSecondhand2022。
關於Carousell調查
調查於2022 年 10 月 19 日至 26 日進行，訪問了 197 名本地 Carousell 用戶，了解受訪者過去一年的購物行為。
有關 Carousell 旋轉拍賣
Carousell 旋轉拍賣是大東南亞區領先的分類買賣平台，使命是鼓勵全球開始銷售，使二手產品成為首選。2012 年 8 月在新加坡推出，Carousell 旋轉拍賣已拓展至東南亞、台灣及香港的 8 個市場，每月為數千萬活躍用戶提供服務。Carousell 獲得了主要投資者的支持，包括 Telenor Group、Rakuten Ventures、Naver、STIC Investments 和 Sequoia Capital India。在香港，Carousell 旋轉拍賣商品分類多元化，共有超過 30 種分類包括樓盤、汽車、電子產品、流行時尚及傢俬及家品等。免費下載 iOS 或 Android 版本，及瀏覽 www.carousell.com.hk 獲取更多資料。
Carousell Press 