Lunar New Year timing boosts Singapore retail sales in January

Excluding motor vehicles, Singapore retail sales in January rose by 0.6 percent, but it will be another month until the effects of the growing coronavirus crisis on tourism and domestic consumer spending is evident.

Including vehicles, Singapore retail sales in January decreased by 5.3 percent year on year, but this as much reflects changing criteria for vehicle ownership certificates of entitlement in the city-state as an economic trend. Month on month, retail sales were down by 0.5 percent excluding vehicles.

Online retail sales in January comprised about 5.8 percent of the total. The major categories here were computer & telecommunications equipment, where online accounted for 25.9 percent of total category sales, furniture & household (10.9 percent) and supermarkets & hypermarkets (7.8 percent).

Overall retail sales of furniture & household equipment declined by 16 percent in January, while sales of optical goods & books fell by 9.4 percent.

However, sales by supermarkets & hypermarkets, food & alcohol, and apparel & footwear grew by between 6.4 percent and 8.7 percent, due partly to increased spending during the Lunar New Year.

January saw 9.1 percent growth in sales of food & beverage services, again due mainly to the timing of Lunar New Year, which was earlier this year. On a seasonally adjusted basis, sales of food & beverage services increased by just 0.8 percent in January.

The value of food & beverage services in January was estimated at S$963 million. Of that, online sales comprised about 9.8 percent.

Turnover of restaurants, fast-food outlets, and food caterers increased by between 8 percent and 16.4 percent in January, again fuelled by increased spending due to the Lunar New Year.

Sales by cafes, food courts & other eating places fell by 2 percent.