Formula One F1 - Singapore Grand Prix - Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore - September 22, 2024 McLaren's Lando Norris leads into the first corner at the start of the race REUTERS/Edgar Su
SINGAPORE: Singapore retail sales eked out growth in August, with strong motor vehicle sales again coming to the rescue.
Retail sales rose 0.6% in August from the same month a year ago, according to Department of Statistics data released last Friday.
This was higher than the 0.2% increase forecast by analysts in a Bloomberg poll.
However, excluding motor vehicle sales, August’s retail turnover declined 1.5% year-on-year (y-o-y), extending a 2.3% drop in July.
Car sales in fact have done the heavy lifting of keeping retail sales in positive territory in the last few months.
Maybank Singapore Ltd economist Brian Lee noted that retail sales in Singapore have generally remained soft in 2024.
“Local households are opting to divert their spending budgets abroad, amid a strong Singapore dollar and high prices locally,” he said.
On a brighter note, total sales without motor vehicles rose 2% from July on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Nine of the 14 retail categories recorded a y-o-y drop in sales in August.
Takings at department stores fell 6.2%, while sales of apparel and footwear dropped 6.7% and those of petrol service stations declined 5.1%.
In contrast, sales of motor vehicles surged 17% due to a higher certificate of entitlement quota.
Retailers of food and alcohol, cosmetics, toiletries and medical goods, as well as supermarkets and hypermarkets, recorded growth in sales of between 2.2% and 8.1%.
August’s total retail sales value was estimated at US$4.1bil, with 12.1% coming from online shopping, similar to the 11.9% recorded in July.
Online retail sales made up 49.3% of the total sales of computer and telecommunications equipment, 33.7% of furniture and household equipment sales and 12.9% of takings in supermarkets and hypermarkets.
Meanwhile, sales of food and beverage services rose 4.3% y-o-y in August, building on the 0.2% rise in July.
Food catering revenue surged 24.3%, while the turnover at cafes, food courts and other eating places rose 3.3%.
Sales climbed 0.1% at fast-food outlets and 2% at restaurants.
The total sales value of food and beverage services in August was estimated at S$1bil, with 24.2% coming from online platforms, an increase from the 23.8% recorded in July. — The Straits Times/ANN
