Singapore retail sales down in August

Singapore retail sales eased down by 1 percent year on year in August, after excluding motor vehicle sales.

A 20.3-per-cent fall in the value of motor vehicles sold during the month caused the topline figure to decline by 4.1 percent.

However, month on month, real retail sales rose by 2.2 percent (they fell by 1.3 percent with motor vehicle sales included in the data).

On a year-on-year basis, sales of furniture & household equipment and watches & jewelry fell by 9.8 percent and 8.6 percent respectively, largely attributed to lower demand for household equipment and jewellery, according to Statistics Singapore.

Other retail industries that recorded declines in sales included petrol service stations (down 3.3 percent), recreational goods (down 2.7 percent) and food retailers (down 2.3 percent).

Conversely, sales of apparel & footwear, in department stores, and of medical goods & toiletries rose by between 4 percent and 4.9 percent.

Online sales comprised 5.5 percent of the total.

Sales of food & beverage services

Meanwhile, sales of food & beverage services grew by 3.6 percent year on year in August.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, sales rose by 1.4 percent, month on month.

Turnover of fast-food outlets, restaurants and food caterers increased by between 3.7 percent and 10 percent, while sales of other eating places (such as cafes) decreased by 0.4 percent.