Retail sales down 8.9% to $3.5b in June

Motor vehicles industry sales led the decline.

Retail sales have dipped 8.9% YoY to $3.5b in June, according to data from the Department of Statistics. Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales slipped 2.7% YoY. 

On a monthly basis, retail sales have also declined 2.2%. Online retail sales accounted for around 5.5% of the total sales value.

The motor vehicles industry sales were down 32.4% YoY, mainly attributed to higher motor vehicle sales volume recorded in June 2018, as well as the lower COE quota for the May to July period. Sales of the furniture & household equipment industry also fell 15.1% YoY, compared to the higher sales experienced by this industry during last year’s Hari Raya festive season.

Similarly, the computer & telecommunications equipment and watches & jewellery industries reported lower sales of 7.7% and 4.8% YoY, respectively, no thanks to lower demand for handphones and jewellery.

On the other hand, sales of the medical goods & toiletries and wearing apparel & footwear industries both rose 1.4%, driven by higher sales of cosmetics & toiletries and wearing apparel.

Furthermore, food & beverage services rose 5.3% YoY to $864m from $820m in 2018, or 3.2% MoM.

Sales of fast food outlets climbed 10.6% YoY, attributed to the opening of new outlets by some major fast food chains. Food caterers, restaurants and other eating places also reported growth in turnover of between 3.2% and 5.7% during this period as well.