Singapore’s retail sales fell 0.4 per cent year on year in December, reversing from a 2.4 per cent gain in the previous month, as most industries recorded declines in sales.
On a month-on-month, seasonally adjusted basis, retail sales fell 1.5 per cent, reversing from November’s 0.5 per cent rise, data from the Department of Statistics (SingStat) showed on Monday (Feb 5).
December’s total retail sales stood at S$4.7 billion. Online sales accounted for 13.1 per cent of this, 2.2 percentage points lower than November’s 15.3 per cent.
Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales fell 2.7 per cent from the year-ago period, and shrank sequentially – down 3 per cent on a month-on-month, seasonally adjusted basis.
Ten out of the 14 retail sales categories saw year-on-year declines in December:
- Department stores (-5.8 per cent)
- Supermarkets & hypermarkets (-2.9 per cent)
- Mini-marts & convenience stores (-8.2 per cent)
- Petrol service stations (-3.8 per cent)
- Cosmetics, toiletries & medical goods (-0.1 per cent)
- Wearing apparel & footwear (-6.2 per cent)
- Furniture & household equipment (-8.5 per cent)
- Recreational goods (-12.3 per cent)
- Optical goods & books (-11.8 per cent)
- Others (-0.5 per cent)
The exceptions were:
- Food & alcohol (4.4 per cent)
- Motor vehicles (23.8 per cent)
- Watches & jewellery (6 per cent)
- Computer & telecom equipment (1.9 per cent)
On a month-on-month, seasonally adjusted basis, sales fell for 11 of the 14 categories. Motor vehicles recorded the largest increase of 11.3 per cent; wearing apparel and footwear posted the largest sequential fall of 10.1 per cent.
Food and beverage services saw sales rise 0.3 per cent year on year, but declined 1.9 per cent on a monthly seasonally-adjusted basis, with growth recorded in two of the four segments:
- Restaurants (-4.8 per cent)
- Fast food outlets (-2.9 per cent)
- Food caterers (14.5 per cent)
- Cafes, food courts & other eating places (3.8 per cent)
