Singapore retail sales remain subdued, but show signs of recovery

Singapore retail sales – excluding motor vehicles – continued to decrease in August, but at a slower pace compared to the previous months.

The city-state saw a 1.5 percent drop in retail sales for the month, a slight improvement from the 2.3 percent reduction in July and 3.1 percent decline in June.

According to the Department of Statistics, the total value of retail sales was about SG$3.5 billion (US$2.7 billion), of which 14.1 percent were from online retail sales.

Within the retail trade sector, wearing apparel & footwear reported the biggest drop in sales – at 6.7 per cent, followed by department stores with a 6.2 per cent decrease. The remaining majority also saw poorer results, such as petrol service stations, optical goods & books, and recreational goods.

The food and alcohol sector swung against the trend with an 8.1 percent increase. Retailers of cosmetics, toiletries, and medical goods and supermarkets and hypermarkets also enjoyed improvements of 3.1 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively.