Hong Kong built its reputation on shopping, and while the luxury malls get the attention, the real pleasure is in the bargains. This is a city where you can buy fabric by the metre from a wholesaler in Sham Shui Po, past-season designer shoes in a converted factory tower, and a phone charger for the price of a coffee, all in the same day.
This guide covers where to find genuine value across the city: the street markets, the outlet malls, the wholesale districts that locals actually use, and when the big sale seasons fall. There are also practical notes at the end on haggling, cash, counterfeits and checking electronics before you hand over money. For more of the city, see our guide to things to do in Hong Kong.
The street markets
Hong Kong’s markets are where haggling is expected and where the cheapest goods are found. Quality varies enormously, so inspect before you buy and never pay the first price quoted.
The Ladies’ Market
A kilometre of stalls in Mong Kok selling clothing, bags, accessories and souvenirs, and the best-known bargaining ground in the city. It is aimed at visitors, so the opening prices are optimistic and the haggling is expected. Good for volume and novelty rather than quality.
Address: Tung Choi Street, Mong Kok | Nearest MTR: Mong Kok, Exit D3 or E2 | Hours: daily, roughly midday to 11pm
Good to know: Open at about a third of the asking price and be prepared to walk away once.
Temple Street Night Market
Kowloon’s classic night market runs from late afternoon until around midnight, mixing clothing and gadgets with fortune tellers and food stalls. The southern end has daytime antique and curio stalls. It was refreshed with extra food stalls and later hours in recent years and remains one of the city’s best evenings out.
Address: Temple Street, Yau Ma Tei | Nearest MTR: Yau Ma Tei, Exit C, or Jordan, Exit A | Hours: daily, late afternoon until around midnight
Good to know: Eat first at the food stalls, then shop; prices soften later in the evening.
Apliu Street Flea Market
Sham Shui Po’s electronics flea market is where locals go for cables, phone parts, secondhand gadgets, old cameras and watches. It is genuinely cheap and genuinely buyer-beware. Bring cash, test anything electrical before you pay, and enjoy the treasure hunt.
Address: Apliu Street, Sham Shui Po | Nearest MTR: Sham Shui Po, Exit C2 | Hours: daily, roughly 10.30am to 10pm
Good to know: Test every device in front of the seller and ask whether any warranty applies.
Jardine’s Bazaar and Crescent
Hong Kong Island’s answer to the Ladies’ Market, tucked behind Causeway Bay’s department stores, selling budget clothing basics, loungewear, hair accessories and costume jewellery. It is used by locals more than tourists, which usually means fairer opening prices.
Address: Jardine’s Crescent and Jardine’s Bazaar, Causeway Bay | Nearest MTR: Causeway Bay, Exit F1 | Hours: daily, roughly 11am to 9.30pm
Good to know: Handy for cheap basics while you are shopping the malls nearby.
Stanley Market
An open-air market on the island’s south coast selling clothing, silk, art, souvenirs and homeware, with the compensation of a waterfront promenade and a row of restaurants when you are done. It is touristy but pleasant, and prices are negotiable.
Address: Stanley New Street, Stanley | Nearest MTR: no MTR; bus 6, 6X or 260 from Central | Hours: daily, roughly 10am to 6.30pm
Good to know: Make a half-day of it and combine the market with lunch by the water.
Cat Street
Upper Lascar Row in Sheung Wan is a pedestrian lane of antique and curio stalls selling jade, coins, old cameras and Mao-era memorabilia. Genuine finds exist alongside a great deal of reproduction, so haggle hard and buy for pleasure rather than investment.
Address: Upper Lascar Row, Sheung Wan | Nearest MTR: Sheung Wan, Exit A2 | Hours: roughly 11am to 6pm, quieter on Sundays
Good to know: Assume reproduction unless you are an expert, and price accordingly.
Outlet malls and discount centres
For brands at a discount rather than market stalls, Hong Kong has several dedicated outlet destinations. Prices are fixed here, so haggling is out, but the reductions can be substantial.
Citygate Outlets
The city’s largest outlet mall, with well over a hundred international brands at heavy discounts, sitting right beside Tung Chung station on the way to the airport. It makes an easy final stop before a flight, with restaurants and a cinema attached.
Address: 18 to 20 Tat Tung Road, Tung Chung | Nearest MTR: Tung Chung, Exit C, directly connected | Hours: daily, 10am to 10pm
Good to know: Pair it with a Ngong Ping cable car trip, as both start at Tung Chung.
Horizon Plaza
A converted factory tower on Ap Lei Chau stacked with discount designer fashion, homeware and furniture outlets across more than twenty floors. It is an odd, warehouse-like experience and the reductions can be dramatic. Start at the top and work down.
Address: 2 Lee Wing Street, Ap Lei Chau | Nearest MTR: South Horizons, Exit C, then roughly 10 minutes on foot | Hours: daily, roughly 10am to 7pm
Good to know: Allow half a day; the building is far bigger than it looks from outside.
Lane Crawford Warehouse
The luxury department store’s own outlet, high up in Horizon Plaza, clearing past-season designer womenswear, menswear, shoes and homeware. It is the single best stop in the building if designer labels are what you are after.
Address: 25/F, Horizon Plaza, 2 Lee Wing Street, Ap Lei Chau | Nearest MTR: South Horizons, Exit C | Hours: daily, 10am to 7pm
Good to know: Stock turns over constantly, so go with an open mind rather than a shopping list.
Florentia Village
A luxury outlet village in Kwai Chung styled, improbably, as an Italian town, with a couple of hundred brands at significant reductions. It is a short walk from Kwai Hing station and considerably calmer than shopping in Central.
Address: 100 Kwai Cheong Road, Kwai Chung | Nearest MTR: Kwai Hing, Exit E, roughly 5 minutes on foot | Hours: daily, from 10am or 10.30am
Good to know: Weekdays are much quieter, and the discounts are the same.
The wholesale and specialist districts
This is where Hong Kong shops for itself. Whole streets specialise in one trade, prices are keen and the further you get from the tourist routes the better the value.
Ki Lung Street, Sham Shui Po
Known to makers as button street, this is the heart of Hong Kong’s fabric trade, with wholesale cloth, buttons, zips, lace and trims sold at prices no retail shop can match. If you sew, it is a genuine destination. Bring cash and be ready to buy by the roll or the bag.
Address: Ki Lung Street, Sham Shui Po | Nearest MTR: Sham Shui Po, Exit A2 | Hours: early morning to early evening; many closed Sunday
Good to know: Go on a weekday morning when the wholesalers are fully open.
Golden Computer Centre and Arcade
Two adjoining buildings in Sham Shui Po packed with computer parts, gadgets, games and accessories, the indoor counterpart to Apliu Street outside. Prices are competitive and the stock is deep, but check warranties carefully as some goods are grey imports.
Address: Fuk Wing Street at Yen Chow Street, Sham Shui Po | Nearest MTR: Sham Shui Po, Exit C2 or D2 | Hours: daily, roughly 10am to 10pm
Good to know: Confirm whether a warranty is local, international or nonexistent before paying.
Sneaker Street
Fa Yuen Street in Mong Kok holds a hundred-odd sportswear and trainer shops, including limited editions, usually below department store prices. The concentration is the advantage: you can compare the same pair across several shops in ten minutes.
Address: Fa Yuen Street, Mong Kok | Nearest MTR: Mong Kok, Exit D2 or E1 | Hours: daily, roughly midday to 10pm
Good to know: Compare at least three shops before buying; prices vary door to door.
Dried Seafood Street
Around two hundred shops along Des Voeux Road West in Sheung Wan sell dried scallops, abalone, fish maw and Chinese tonic ingredients. It is a working wholesale district where comparing a few shops genuinely pays, and it is a remarkable thing to walk through even if you buy nothing.
Address: Des Voeux Road West, Sheung Wan | Nearest MTR: Sheung Wan, Exit A1 | Hours: roughly 9.30am to 7pm, some closed Sunday
Good to know: Prices vary widely by grade, so ask what you are looking at before comparing.
The Jade Market
Several hundred stalls in Yau Ma Tei selling jade bangles, pendants and zodiac charms. Bargains exist, but authenticating jade is genuinely difficult for a casual buyer, so treat anything expensive with caution and buy the cheap pieces for the pleasure of them.
Address: 251 Shanghai Street, Yau Ma Tei | Nearest MTR: Yau Ma Tei, Exit C, roughly 10 minutes on foot | Hours: daily, roughly 10am to 4pm
Good to know: Do not spend serious money on jade here unless you know exactly what you are buying.
When the sales happen
Hong Kong has two main sale seasons. The summer sales run from roughly July into September, clearing seasonal stock with reductions that deepen as the weeks pass, and they tie into the city’s summer shopping promotions. The winter run starts in early December and continues through to Lunar New Year, taking in Christmas and the new year and often producing the steepest discounts of the year as the holiday approaches.
Beyond the shop sales, Hong Kong has an active warehouse and sample sale culture. Members-only flash warehouses in Central work with hundreds of international brands, department stores clear past-season stock in periodic events, and dedicated listing sites track pop-up sample sales as they are announced. If you are here for a while, it is worth following one of those calendars.
- Summer sales: roughly July to September, deepening through August
- Winter sales: early December to Lunar New Year, often the best of the year
- Warehouse sales: periodic, ticketed or members-only, often in Central
- Sample sales: announced on rolling listing sites, frequently at very deep discounts
How to bargain, and what to watch for
Haggling is expected at street markets and flea markets, and nowhere else. In malls, outlets, department stores and fixed-price shops the marked price is the price, and trying to negotiate will simply be awkward. At the stalls, a reasonable opening counter is a third to a half of the asking price, delivered cheerfully and worked upwards. Vendors respond far better to good humour than to aggressive lowballing, and comparing the same item across two or three stalls first tells you what the real local price is.
- Bring cash, in small notes. Street stalls and wholesale districts are cash-first, while malls and outlets take cards and mobile payment.
- Counterfeits are a real risk. Fake branded goods circulate in tourist markets and are illegal to import into the UK, EU, US and Australia, with seizure a genuine possibility. Buy anything where authenticity matters from a licensed retailer with a receipt.
- Test electronics before paying. Power the device on, check the plug and voltage suit your country, confirm all accessories are in the box, and ask whether the warranty is local, international or nonexistent.
- Keep the receipt wherever one is offered, particularly for anything electrical.
- Time it right. Markets are fully stocked and liveliest from late afternoon; outlet malls are calmest right at opening.
- Compare before committing. Two or three stalls or shops will tell you the real price of almost anything here.
Between the markets, the outlets and the wholesale streets, Hong Kong rewards anyone prepared to walk a bit and ask the price twice. For more of the city, see our guides to things to do in Hong Kong and the best restaurants in Hong Kong for when the shopping is done.
You will also find plenty of coffee shops to rest in and spas and salons to recover in. If you run a shop or market business, list it on advertise.hk so bargain hunters can find you. Market hours are informal and change with the weather and the season, so treat the times above as a guide.
