Aspire has released its Hong Kong Ecommerce Pulse Check 2025, highlighting that while mid-sized ecommerce merchants remain broadly optimistic about growth, financial inefficiencies are steadily eroding margins.
The study, conducted with 100 Hong Kong merchants generating HKD 1-10 million in annual revenue and developed in collaboration with Stripe, identifies payment-related friction as the most significant but least visible constraint on performance.
Around 91% of respondents reported losing between 1% and 10% of monthly revenue due to payment failures, chargebacks and disputes, hidden fees, settlement delays, and the complexity of managing multiple payment providers.
These losses compound rising processing costs, with 93% of merchants saying payment fees now account for at least 2–4% or more of revenue.
Andrea Baronchelli, CEO and co-founder of Aspire, said:
“The data shows Hong Kong merchants responding to macroeconomic pressures with speed and flexibility. They are adjusting product mixes, pricing strategies, and sales channels, yet payment friction continues to undermine these efforts.”
Merchants continue to face a challenging operating environment shaped by weaker consumer spending (32%), rising rents and logistics costs (32%), and inflation (31%).
Even so, expectations remain relatively positive: 64% anticipate revenue growth of up to 20% in the year ahead, while only a small proportion expect significant declines.
Rather than passing costs directly to consumers, businesses are adapting their strategies.
About 31% are moving into more specialised niches, 73% are broadening their pricing structures, and 44% are shifting further towards digital channels.
At the same time, 23% are expanding physical touchpoints through pop-ups or hybrid formats.
Social commerce continues to gain prominence, accounting for 62% of primary sales channels, ahead of livestreaming (15%) and traditional ecommerce platforms (23%).
Cross-border expansion remains central to growth, particularly into Southeast Asia, Mainland China, and North Asia, though merchants cite logistics complexity, local marketing challenges, and duties as key constraints.
Sarita Singh, Stripe’s Regional Head for Southeast Asia, India, and Greater China, noted:
“When payment friction affects the vast majority of merchants, it becomes a structural barrier to growth rather than a marginal cost.”
Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Hong Kong, based on image by alidrian via Freepik
