It used to be very lively, and the streets were crowded with people dragging suitcases to shop, but now there are one after another shops closing......
Today is the first anniversary of the limited reopening of customs between the mainland and Hong Kong, and Hong Kong has basically returned to its previous liveliness. But there are some places that you can't go back to! For example, there are many beauty stores in Sheung Shui Pharmacy Street.
Source: Hong Kong 021
You must know that in the past, it was all about purchasing agents with suitcases, because it was so profitable!
Earn 7000 at a time
When it comes to Hong Kong's medicines and cosmetics, everyone's first impression is that the prices are cheap and the quality is good! I believe that many people who travel to Hong Kong have been asked by their relatives and friends to bring some "tiger balm" and the like.
So some people saw the business opportunity and started a purchasing business! Some Hong Kong media interviewed Xiaokui, who had been buying for four years before the epidemic, and she said that when her business was at its best, she could earn 7,000 yuan by going to Hong Kong once! At that time, many purchasing agents could earn 30,000 yuan a month.
Source: Internet
Even in the self-media platform, some people mentioned that they made a million by purchasing on behalf of others!
Source: Little Red Book
Sheung Shui was once "occupied" by purchasing agents from the mainland! Because it was only one stop away from Shenzhen's Luohu and Lok Ma Chau ports. A local resident once complained that "walking on the street will be pressed by the suitcase". It's enough to see how lively it is!
Source: Hong Kong 01
It wasn't until after the pandemic lockdown that the street became deserted. But to the disappointment of local shops, even after the customs clearance, the store still failed to return to its previous liveliness, and some shopkeepers even said that business was not as good as before the epidemic!
Why is that?
Everything is changing
Domestic products are out of the circle
Xi For example, Ms. Yang, an employee of a beauty store on San Hong Street, observed that in the past, mainlanders liked to buy some beauty products from international brands, but now they prefer domestic products.
Alai also found that on the self-media platform in the past few years, there are many domestic beauty brands that are out of the circle! Whether it is the packaging or the name, they are very Chinese-style, and the price is relatively close to the people. The promotional point of some brands is still "century-old domestic products", which is a plus when you hear it!
Source: Internet
Compared with international brands, these domestic brands have their own stores on online platforms, and mainlanders who are Xi to shopping online do not have to worry about buying fakes. So a large part of the population has started to buy domestic products.
The price is cheap
On the other hand, Hong Kong's price advantage is gone! In the past, people would come to Hong Kong to buy things, mainly because the prices here were more favorable. However, in the past few years of the epidemic, many stores have been closed, and many things cannot be found, coupled with the change in the exchange rate, the purchasing agent can basically not earn money after deducting the fare and time cost!
Source: Hong Kong 01
Many of the local stores that have not yet closed down are in the business of supplying online stores on the mainland.
Customs are getting stricter and stricter
For example, the police and the FEHD patrol Sheung Shui from time to time, and have also installed a lot of surveillance cameras outside shops to see if there are any "water passenger activities."
There are also many purchasing agents who are taking advantage of loopholes, and when they buy it, they send the packaging box back, leaving the contents and saying that they are for their own use. But because he dragged a box back and forth every day, he had long been targeted by the immigration department!
Source: Internet
The General Administration of Customs stipulates that transit passengers can only bring things worth less than 5,000 yuan, and the purchasing agent is more than this amount in order to make money, so if he is stopped for a check, he will have to pay a fine!
For various reasons, Hong Kong purchasing is becoming more and more difficult to do, and now it is popular to reverse purchasing agents!
The rise of reverse daigou
Many Hong Kong students like milk tea in the mainland, because the price is cheap and there are many small ingredients, and two cups of milk tea plus the purchasing fee are the same price as the milk tea at their doorstep. Many Hong Kong purchasing agents are familiar with the routes on both sides, so they turned a corner and began to help Hong Kong people buy various delicacies from the mainland!
Source: Little Red Book
Ah Lai also mentioned before that Hong Kong people like to go north to Shenzhen and buy at Sam's Supermarket! So recently, there have even been a number of Sam's shopping agents and Sam's tour groups! There are more than 1,000 people in Mr. Li's group who does Sam's shopping, and he has to drive to Sam's every day to buy things.
Source: Internet
And the tour group is even more exaggerated, an adult charges 228 Hong Kong dollars, drive a bus to send you directly to Sam's, the tour guide does not talk about the attractions only talk about the shelves, but also help to provide membership cards!
Therefore, in the past, many mainlanders liked to find Hong Kong purchasing agents, but now Hong Kong people are looking for mainland purchasing agents to do better business!
I wonder where people prefer to buy things now?