Fashion
Singapore retail sales in February fell by 10.2 percent, excluding motor vehicles. Including motor vehicles, sales were down by 8.6 percent year on year. In releasing the data, Statistics Singapore attributed the decline to falling sales of discretionary items due to fewer inbound tourists and lower domestic consumption in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
The month-on-month decline in Singapore retail sales in February was 11.2 percent, excluding motor vehicles.
The two worst-affected categories in February were apparel and footwear, down 41 percent year on year, and food and alcohol, down by 40.5 percent.
Sales in department stores dropped by 36.3 percent, while sales of watches and jewelry fell by 23.8 percent.
On the plus side, sales by supermarkets and hypermarkets surged by 15.3 percent and of furniture and household equipment by 5.9 percent.
Statistics Singapore estimated total Singapore retail sales in February at $3.1 billion. Of that figure, online retail sales accounted for 7.4 percent, with the computer & telecommunications equipment the largest contributor, accounting for 30.4 percent.
Meanwhile, year-on-year sales of food & beverage services fell by 16.6 percent in February, on the back of declining consumption related to the coronavirus pandemic. On a seasonally adjusted basis, sales of food & beverage services decreased by 18.3 percent month on month.
Statistics Singapore estimated sales of food & beverage services in February totaling $732 million, of which online sales accounted for 12.5 percent.
The turnover of food caterers and restaurants decreased by 31.5 percent and 29.1 percent respectively, while sales by cafes, food courts and other eating places decreased by 2.3 percent. Sales by fast-food outlets rose 5.8 percent during the month.
