Hong Kong retail sales dropped in December

Hong Kong retail sales in December slumped 19.4 percent, a softer fall than November’s 23.7 percent, but continuing the decline which began with the civil unrest after June.

For the whole year,  total retail sales decreased by 11.1 percent in value and by 12.3 percent in volume terms (after accounting for price fluctuations) compared with 2018.

A government spokesman said that Hong Kong retail sales in December continued to decline sharply, as the impact of the local social incidents on consumption- and tourism-related activities remained “severe”.

“The business environment for retail trade has become even more difficult recently, with the threat of the novel coronavirus infection heavily weighing on inbound tourism and local consumption sentiment,” the spokesman said.

“The near-term outlook for retail sales depends critically on how the situation of the novel coronavirus infection will evolve.”

According to figures from The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) the value of total Hong Kong retail sales in December was estimated at HKD36.2 billion, (US$4.66 billion). After adjusting for inflation, December sales were down 21 percent year on year compared with a 25.5 percent decline in November.

Listed in terms of their impact on total sales, the worst-performing categories were jewelry, watches, clocks and valuable gifts, down by 36.7 percent, supermarket sales down by 3.1 percent; apparel by 22.1 percent; and department-store sales by 25.3 percent.

Food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco sales were down by 1.9 percent; electrical goods and other consumer durable goods, by 17.4 percent, other consumable goods not otherwise classified by 14.5 percent; medicines and cosmetics fell 29.9 percent; footwear and accessories by 20.4 percent; furniture and fixtures by 1.4 percent; books, newspapers, stationery and gifts by 14.8 percent; Chinese drugs and herbs by 9.8 percent; and optical shop sales fell 19.3 percent.

The only category of Hong Kong retail sales in December to show growth was fueled, up by 13.5 percent.