Retail rebounds in end-2025 on sales, leasing, arrivals

Total retail sales in November rose by 6.5% YoY, whilst leasing reached 349,000 sq. ft.

The Hong Kong retail market was strong in end-2025 as it was spurred by higher sales, retail leasing, and visitor arrivals, CBRE said.

Total retail sales in November 2025 rose by 6.5% year on year (YoY), and total retail sales for the 11 months of the year edged up by 0.4% YoY, it added.

Retail leasing momentum improved for the third consecutive quarter to reach 349,000 square feet.

The food and beverage (F&B) segment continued to display the strongest demand, whilst banks were also actively leasing 48,600 sq. ft.

Fashion brands, jewellery stores, and pharmacies each accounted for only a single-digit percentage of the quarter’s total leasing volume, CBRE said.

Improved leasing momentum pulled down the vacancy rate for high street shops in the four core retail districts by 2.2 percentage points to 5.8%, the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2019, it added.

Central recorded the lowest vacancy percentage at 1.3% as of end-December 2025, the firm’s data showed.

Reduced vacancy increased rents by 0.6% quarter on quarter, bringing full-year growth to 2.9%.

Visitor arrivals in the city grew by 14.6% YoY in October and November combined, pushing the year-to-date total to 45.2 million.

Looking ahead to 2026, experience-led concepts and landlord-tenant collaboration will remain key to capturing both local and tourist spending, said Lawrence Wan, senior director and head of retail leasing of CBRE Hong Kong.

“Low vacancy on some leading high streets will warrant another 5% to 7% rental growth in 2026. Decentralised retail rents are expected to remain on the fall, by low-mid single-digit levels,” Wan added.