In a bid to attract shoppers back to the city’s brick-and-mortar stores, several high-end malls have launched cash voucher programmes in which luxury brands are taking part, SCMP reports.

At Alexander McQueen, Gucci, Ralph Lauren and Giorgio Armani boutiques in the city’s Harbour City mall, customers can receive a $100 HKD (around $13) voucher for every $1,000 HKD ($129) spent in a day and two $500 HKD coupons for every $6,000 HKD spent at designated shops.

Social distancing measures, border restrictions and socio-political unrest have dealt a significant blow to retailers in Hong Kong, which relied heavily on Chinese tourist spending prior to the dual disruptions of pro-democracy protests in 2019 and then a global pandemic in 2020. This has resulted in the emptying out of major shopping thoroughfares and the closure of flagship stores by brands like Prada.Throughout the pandemic, other high-end shopping centres, including Times Square, Pacific Place, IFC Mall and K11 Musea have also introduced voucher schemes and cash coupons that included luxury fashion brands’ stores.

In some of these cases it’s unclear whether tenants have to bear the costs of shoppers’ savings, but a source familiar with the matter told SCMP that brands at Harbour City and Times Square are required to absorb two-thirds of the value of every voucher used.