Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau on Wednesday called on retailers to take the opportunity of a shopping festival later this year to boost consumption for silver-haired residents.

His remark came after authorities last week rolled out 30 measures to tap into the "silver economy" to spur growth, of which half were related to boosting consumption for senior residents.

Speaking at the Hong Kong Retail Summit 2025, Yau said the third edition of the Hong Kong Shopping Festival in the third quarter will be a good chance to put the measures into practice.

"I encourage the business community to take this opportunity to offer exclusive discounts, products, as well as a combination of services for the elderly, to create a pleasant silver consumption atmosphere in the market, and to attract more silver-haired consumers," he told summit participants, many of them retail professionals.

"I also hope that retailers such as supermarkets, department stores, pharmacies and personal care stores will classify the products clearly and concisely at their physical stores, and to place some common and popular silver products at places that are easy to access, so as to enhance the consumption experiences for them and their families and caregivers," he added.

The commerce chief also said the government will ramp up certifications for relevant products and services to ensure their reliability.

Echoing Yau, Annie Yau Tse, chairwoman of the Hong Kong Retail Management Association (HKRMA), said local retailers must embrace new technology and channels to break through the extreme challenges facing the sector.

"New retail must embrace the artificial intelligence and innovative technologies, attach importance to the consumer experience, and seize the development opportunities in different fields, such as the mega event economy, low-altitude economy and silver economy, to break through the limitations of our Hong Kong retailers and open a new chapter," she said.

"Hong Kong brands still have unique advantages, and we can look around and explore new markets, such as first establishing themselves in the Greater Bay Area market, before tapping into markets of other provinces and cities on the mainland."

The retail veteran's remarks came as the city's retail sales fell for the 14th month in a row, dropping by 2.3 percent year on year in April to HK$28.9 billion, as changing consumption patterns continued to weigh on the industry.

Yau Tse earlier estimated that the sector will see flat growth for this year, saying she hopes the April data "reached a bottom" and that the industry will stabilise in the coming months.