The city’s April sales rose off a low comparative base following March’s 20.2 percent year-on-year surge, Inside Retail reports.

Though sales between January and April of this year have outpaced 2020′s figures by 8.5 percent, demand is still lagging behind pre-pandemic levels, owing largely to the continued absence of mainland Chinese tourists.

Online transactions made up 6.8 percent of overall retail sales, a 27.2 percent boost year-on-year.

Hong Kong’s census department estimates that the value of online retail sales during the January-April period was up 53.1 percent compared to the same period last year.