Retail Sales Index – January 2024
March 7, 2024Overview
On a year-on-year basis, retail sales increased 1.3% in January 2024, compared to the 0.5% decrease in December
2023. The increase was mainly attributed to higher motor vehicle sales (37.3%). Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales
fell 2.1%, following the 2.8% decrease in December 2023. On a seasonally adjusted basis, retail sales declined 0.7%
in January 2024 over the previous month. Excluding motor vehicles, seasonally adjusted retail sales increased 0.5%
compared to December 2023.
The estimated total retail sales value in January 2024 was $4.3 billion. Of this, an estimated 11.2% were from online
retail sales, lower than the 12.8% recorded in December 2023. Excluding motor vehicles, the total retail sales value
was about $3.7 billion, of which 12.9% were from online retail sales. Online retail sales made up 47.1%, 30.3% and
11.9% of the total sales of the Computer & Telecommunications Equipment, Furniture & Household Equipment and
Supermarkets & Hypermarkets industries respectively.
Year-on-Year Change (at Current Prices)
Within the retail trade sector, performance was mixed. Sales of Motor Vehicles rose 37.3% year-on-year in
January 2024, which corresponded to a higher COE quota. Retailers of the Food & Alcohol and Watches &
Jewellery industries saw year-on-year growths in sales of 8.5% and 5.3% respectively.
In contrast, the Wearing Apparel & Footwear industry recorded a 11.8% year-on-year decline in sales, mainly
due to lower demand for wearing apparel. Similarly, sales of Supermarkets & Hypermarkets recorded a year-on-year decrease in sales of 6.5%.
Month-on-Month Change (at Current Prices, Seasonally Adjusted)
On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, majority of the retail industries recorded increased sales in January 2024. In particular, sales of Department Stores, Food & Alcohol, and Supermarkets & Hypermarkets recorded double-digit growths at 13.9%, 12.6% and 10.6% respectively.
Conversely, sales of Watches & Jewellery and Furniture & Household Equipment declined 12.7% and 10.1% respectively.
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