<p>With Hong Kong residents shopping in the mainland and domestic brands accelerating their entry into Hong Kong, the local retail industry faces dual challenges of cost-effectiveness and service experience. Zheng Zhongbang, Chairman of the Hong Kong Small and Medium Enterprises Association, Wu Xiumei, CEO of New World The Point, Li Sida, Head of Keeta Hong Kong Chain Business, and Yan Diyu, Director of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science at Cyberport, discussed how to break the deadlock at the Sing Tao &#34;China Macroeconomic and Greater Bay Area Integration Forum 2025,&#34; believing that Hong Kong brands need to upgrade and transform, drawing on mainland experiences and technological means to enhance business competitiveness.</p>
<p>Related article: Sing Tao &#34;China Macroeconomic and Greater Bay Area Integration Forum 2025&#34; held today, with a moment of silence before the event. Guo Xiaoting calls for community care and overcoming difficulties together.</p>
<h2>New World has 3 million members across 26 malls</h2>
<p>As a mall operator, Wu Xiumei pointed out that New World has 26 malls and needs to continuously learn and optimize mainland experiences, including introducing diverse niche dining brands, advancing digital operations, and referencing the mainland's &#34;one smartphone to travel the world&#34; approach to improve the previous method of queuing for parking discounts, achieving touchless parking, and quickly obtaining discounts through the online app.</p>
<p>Additionally, the mall conducts precise push notifications based on the consumption behavior of its 3 million members, enhancing the experience before they arrive at the mall, optimizing pet-friendly facilities and family activity spaces, creating a &#34;third space&#34; that integrates leisure and entertainment, and launching a &#34;Gold Member Program&#34; to provide priority services and increase customer loyalty.</p>
<h2>Keeta uses AI to understand new customer gathering areas</h2>
<p>Li Sida pointed out that the current competitive environment also provides opportunities. Keeta is collaborating with 15,000 merchants, an increase from last year, and the demand for takeout has doubled, focusing on enhancing efficiency through digital means. He believes that technology should serve merchants and consumers, such as Keeta using AI technology to help merchants understand the areas where new customers gather and gradually improving the accuracy of delivery time predictions.</p>
<p>He also noted that many brands are striving for online promotion, and some merchants are launching creative products with co-branded IPs to strengthen brand effects and attract new &#34;believers&#34; to stimulate demand. Additionally, he mentioned that late-night snacks will be a new growth point for takeout, and the next step could be to extend operating hours to expand the late-night economy.</p>
<h2>Future marketing targets may be &#34;AI assistants&#34;</h2>
<p>Yan Diyu also agreed that effectively using technologies like &#34;cooking robots&#34; can help merchants reduce operational burdens, and he stated that effectively utilizing AI requires database support. The next step for merchants could be to integrate customer data through chat and order data, such as turning WhatsApp order records into a raw database. He further stated that 2025 will be the inaugural year for Agentic AI, with authoritative institutions predicting that by 2030, 15% of business decisions will be made by Agentic AI, and future marketing targets will not only be customers but also AI assistants.</p>
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<p>Hong Kong's retail industry faces challenges in cost-effectiveness and service experience, with experts discussing upgrade and transformation strategies at a forum. New World malls enhance customer experience through precise push notifications based on membership data and digital operations. Keeta utilizes AI technology to improve delivery efficiency, with late-night takeout becoming a new growth point</p>

- Hong Kong's retail sector faces challenges from rising consumer expectations and competition from mainland brands, prompting discussions at the "China Macroeconomic and Greater Bay Area Integration Forum 2025."  
- Industry leaders emphasize the need for local brands to upgrade and adopt technology to enhance competitiveness, including digital operations and personalized customer experiences.  
- Innovations such as AI-driven insights and extended operating hours for late-night services are seen as opportunities for growth in the evolving market landscape.

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The Hong Kong retail industry needs to upgrade and transform, with shopping malls using membership data for precise push notifications. Keeta expects late-night food delivery to become a growth point | China Macroeconomic Forum