Singapore retail sales plunge in February

Singapore retail sales took a dive in February due to the difference in timing of the Chinese New Year.

Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales fell 6.7 percent year-on-year in February, reversing the 5.1 percent increase in January. The estimated total value was SG$3.2 billion (US$2.3 billion), of which 14.6 percent were from online sales.

The Department of Statistics said the decline was partly due to Chinese New Year being celebrated in February last year, as opposed to January this year.

For the two-month period (January to February), retail sales were down 0.5 per cent.

By industry, wearing apparel and footwear recorded the biggest sales decline of 18.4 percent, mainly due to lower sales of wearing apparel. Department stores and supermarkets and hypermarkets saw a 14.6 percent and 13.3 percent decrease, respectively.

In contrast, retailers of optical goods and books recorded sales growth of 6.4 percent. The cosmetics, toiletries and medical goods, watches and jewellery, and computer and telecommunications equipment industries also reported modest improvements.

Sales of food & beverage services fell 5.6 percent in February, compared to the 10.3 percent growth in January. This was also due to the difference in the timing of Chinese New Year.