Getting future-ready and staying ahead: Hong Kong (SAR) edition

In KPMG’s 2022 Customer Experience Excellence (CEE) study, titled Getting future-ready and staying ahead: Hong Kong (SAR) edition, we present our findings of a survey to identify critical factors to deliver a market-leading customer experience. The survey asked 1,200 consumers in Hong Kong to rate their experiences with over 70 brands that operate across five industries: Financial Services, Grocery Retail, Non-Grocery Retail, Travel and Hotels, and Entertainment and Leisure.

Although brands have continued to focus on designing and delivering a better customer experience, Hong Kong recorded a slight decline in this year’s overall customer experience performance. Non-grocery retail was the only sector that bucked this trend and saw an improvement compared with the previous year.

The study finds that consumers in Hong Kong are increasingly engaging with brands through digital channels, with 85% of respondents reporting digital interaction with brands – an 8 percentage point increase compared with the previous year, indicating that user-friendly digital experiences are now the minimum standard expected, instead of being a key differentiator.

These days, Hong Kong customers are comparing local brands against global brands, and local experiences against global ones. As a result, local brands are becoming increasingly competitive in offering leading experiences. The three themes coming out of this year’s study are: leading brands have demonstrated agility in the face of rapidly evolving customer expectations; expectation gaps exist between customers and non-customers; and the need for brands to embed their company’s core values into their daily operations and engagement.

KPMG’s Global Customer Experience Excellence (CEE) programme has run for 13 years across 25 markets. The study has defined and validated six fundamental components of Customer Experience Excellence – Personalisation, Integrity, Expectations, Resolution, Time and Effort, and Empathy – collectively referred to as the KPMG Six Pillars of Customer Excellence. Brands that master these have demonstrated increased brand loyalty and advocacy.

Anson Bailey
Partner, Hong Kong
Head of Consumer and Retail, ASPAC region
KPMG China

Daniel Hui
Partner, Head of Consumer and Retail
Hong Kong
KPMG China

Sean Ren
Director, Strategy & Operations
Hong Kong
KPMG China

Jessica Hong
Director, Strategy & Operations
Hong Kong
KPMG China