Listen to the full article: （Audio generated by ElevenLabs）【明報專訊】HONG KONG'S retail sales by value rose by 3.8% in August from a year earlier, outstripping market forecasts of 2% and marking the strongest growth since December 2023. Yet the retail and catering industries still face structural headwinds: shifting spending patterns among locals and mainland visitors, and rents that gnaw away at competitiveness. Landlords would be wise not to kill the golden goose by jacking up rents at the faintest whiff of recovery. Retailers and caterers, for their part, must bend to new spending patterns, keep innovating, and sharpen their distinctiveness to woo evolving tastes.