Chinese New Year boosts retail sales by 5.2% in February

However, statistics also show that sales of food & beverage services dipped by 3.5% in the same month.

Retail sales grew by 5.2% YoY in February, compared to the 6.1% YoY decline recorded in January according to the latest government statistics.

The growth was attributed mainly to Chinese New Year Celebrations.

The total retail sales value was estimated to be around $3.3b. Online retail sales made up 10.1% of the total retail sales value. Within this category, computer and telecommunications equipment made up of 44.3% of sales, furniture and household equipment made up 26%, and supermarket and hypermarket sales made up of 10.7%.

Sales in jewelry and watches led the retail sales growth at 34.1% increase YoY. This was followed by clothes and shoes at a 31.6% increase YoY and recreational goods at 13.9% YoY growth.

Cosmetics, toiletries and medical goods declined by 18.7%.

Meanwhile, government statistics showed that sales of food & beverage services dipped by 3.5% in the same month, a smaller contraction compared to the 24.6% in January. 

Restaurant sales saw an improvement by 8.5% whilst fast food outlets sales grew by 2.1%. Food caterers however saw a 56% decline in February but is a smaller contraction compared to 78% drop in January.

The Retail Sales Index (RSI) and Food & Beverage Services Index (FSI) measure the short-term performance of the retail trade and food & beverage (F&B) services industries based on the sales records of retail trade and F&B services establishments respectively. Sales figure refers to the value of retail goods or food & beverages sold to consumers during the month, excluding taxes on products such as Goods and Services Tax (GST), Additional Registration Fee (ARF) and Certificates of Entitlement (COE).