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Singapore’s retail sales up 7.5% in October on handset launches; still below pre-pandemic levels

  • Dec 03, 2021

SINGAPORE’S retail sales rose 7.5 per cent year on year in October, picking up from 6.8 per cent in the month before, in part as new product launches boosted mobile phone sales.

On a month-on-month, seasonally adjusted basis, retail sales were up by 0.7 per cent, cooling against 6.1 per cent in September.

Retail sales came to S$3.6 billion in all, with online sales making up 15.2 per cent, although the Department of Statistics noted in its release on Friday (Dec 3) that the value still “remained below pre-Covid levels”.

Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales grew by 11.4 per cent year on year, or 2.3 per cent on a seasonally adjusted, monthly basis.

Most retail sales categories saw year-on-year growth:

  • Supermarkets and hypermarkets (10.4 per cent)
  • Food and alcohol (7.6 per cent)
  • Petrol service stations (16.3 per cent)
  • Cosmetics, toiletries and medical goods (9.1 per cent)
  • Wearing apparel and footwear (5.5 per cent)
  • Furniture and household equipment (8.2 per cent)
  • Watches and jewellery (26.9 per cent)
  • Computer and telecommunications equipment (72.9 per cent)

The exceptions were:

  • Department stores (-1.3 per cent)
  • Mini-marts and convenience stores (-5.6 per cent)
  • Motor vehicles (-13.1 per cent)
  • Recreational goods (-4.1 per cent)
  • Optical goods and books (-17.4 per cent)
  • Others (-8 per cent)

On a month-on-month, seasonally adjusted basis, all categories posted an increase except for department stores, food and alcohol, motor vehicles, and optical goods and books.

Food and beverage services saw sales in October slip by 4.5 per cent year on year and 5 per cent on a seasonally adjusted, monthly basis, to S$659 million for the month.

Eateries were dragged down by the restaurants segment, which faced tighter dine-in restrictions than the year before, even as catering receipts jumped on low demand in the year-ago period:

  • Restaurants (-24 per cent)
  • Fast food outlets (10.1 per cent)
  • Food caterers (39 per cent)
  • Cafes, food courts and other eating places (5 per cent)

Source: https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapores-retail-sales-up-75-in-october-on-handset-launches-still-below-pre