The poll showed 93 percent of Hong Kongers viewed shopping as a form of entertainment, compared with 74 percent of consumers globally. The survey covered 22,000 Internet users in 42 markets.

Hong Kong promotes itself as a shoppers paradise as the territory is crammed with shopping malls and competition between retailers is intense.

''For many people in Hong Kong, shopping is probably a way to get away from the relatively small living space and hang out with friends,'' said Bienvenido Niles, Asia-Pacific president of ACNielsen.

Asians generally led the rest of the world in consumption, a reflection of their growing wealth, the survey showed. In China, 31 percent of respondents said clothes shopping was their favorite thing to do and 20 percent of Indians in the poll agreed.