Nearly 50 pc of respondents find malls and markets post-pandemic have fewer people: survey

The New People's Party (NPP) announced on Friday that nearly half of the respondents found that fewer people have been frequenting malls and markets since the pandemic and suggested that the government adjusts rents and hold more activities to remedy the vacancy rate.

This came after the party conducted a survey from May to July and sent out questionnaires to collect data from citizens and small stores in 18 districts.

The results found that nearly half of them believe that after the pandemic the crowds in malls and markets throughout their district have become smaller, and 72 percent of them stated that the biggest loss was seen in the Wan Chai district.

At the same time, over 40 percent of respondents stated that there has been an increase in the vacancy rate of stores in malls and markets, with 74 percent of them pointing out that the worst situation occurred in the North District.

In terms of prices, more than half of the respondents stated that there has been a rise in prices after the pandemic, with over 90 percent stating that the price hike on the Islands District is far higher than that in the Southern and Eastern Districts.

Among the 400 small businesses participating in the survey, over half of them stated that rent has also increased.

NPP lawmaker, Dominic Lee Tsz-king, believes that the increase in the vacancy rate of stores and the lack of purchasing power are related to citizens heading toward the mainland for consumption.

The party urged the Housing Authority and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department to lower the rent at malls and markets, along with suggesting that the government holds more events for the merchants to stimulate consumption and improve the business environment.