Department stores lead Singapore retail sales

Singapore retail sales rose 2.6 per cent in March, excluding motor vehicles, as the sector’s slow but steady recovery continues.

Month-on-month, retail sales rose 1.1 per cent.

The headline figure – which includes motor vehicles – showed a year-on-year decline of 1.5 per cent as car sales in the city state slumped 16 per cent.

According to Statistics Singapore, retail spending (including vehicles) totalled S$3.8 billion in March, with e-commerce accounting for 4.1 per cent of that.

Department stores were the big winners of the month, with sales up 9.1 per cent, while food retailers also performed well, up 7.5 per cent. Sales of medical goods and toiletries rose 6.2 per cent and of apparel and footwear, and watches and jewellery, by 5 per cent.

Sales of phones and computer equipment fell by 8 per cent.

In the foodservice sector, sales of food and beverage rose 3.6 per cent to an estimated $716 million, led by fast-food outlets, up 16.1 per cent.