Macau Shopping

I love to shop in Macau. It’s cheaper than shopping in Malaysia. Here are some things I observed about shopping in Macau, from a Malaysian perspective:

1. The sales assistants are very friendly, especially the ones in branded outlets.

2. There are no proper malls there that I know of, except for the Grand Canal Shoppes in The Venetian Macao. Their shops are usually stand-alones.

3. To shop for branded products, go to the Grand Canal Shoppes and Senado Square.

4. To shop for non-branded products, go to Senado Square and the shoplots nearby the Red Market (Mercado Vermelho or Hong Kai Si in Cantonese).

5. Macau Fisherman’s Wharf is disappointing if you’re looking to shop there, because there are empty shoplots, more than half of all the shoplots. You might enjoy taking pictures of the faux volcano and Ming Dynasty buildings, though.

6. When shopping at stalls (like the ones found around Senado Square), you should haggle a bit. But don’t haggle without intention to actually buy the item. If you’re not sure you want it, walk away and think about it first.

7. Grocery shopping in Macau is fun too. There are lots of products not available in Malaysia. They can even make great souvenirs!

8. Hong Kong dollar is accepted in Macau although the Macanese currency is pataca. The exchange rate in retail is HKD$1 = MOP$1, but the actually foreign exchange rate is HKD$1 = MOP$1.03. So if you plan to do a whole lot of shopping in Macau (and you should, shopping is considerably cheaper, unless you’re from places like Thailand or Indonesia) you should change for the local currency. It might look like a small difference, but if you changed HKD$1000 = MOP$1047 (approximately). That extra $47 can buy you a meal.

9. The Macau main post office is at Senado Square, so it’s easy to send some postcards or buy some collector’s item’s stamps.

10. Shopping in Macau are usually outdoors (except in the Venetian Macao) so best to come with umbrellas and handkerchiefs to wipe your sweat if it’s summertime!