Thailand
Brunei: Retail sales index sees 9.9pc increase
In the second quarter (Q2) of 2021, the performance of the retail sales index (RSI) in Brunei Darussalam continued to show a year-on-year (y-o-y) increase of 9.9 per cent with an estimated retail sales value of BND464.5 million.
The food and beverages services index (F&BSI) also increased by 28.8 per cent, compared to Q2 2020 with an estimated sales revenue of BND91.6 million.
For retail sales, almost all retail activities have shown an increase in sales driven mainly by the sales of textiles wearing apparel and footwear, which increased by 65.3 per cent, followed by sales of watches and jewellery by 37.5 per cent; sales of hardware, paints and glass in specialised stores (22.3 per cent); sales in petrol station (19.1 per cent); and sales in department store (7.3 per cent).
For food and beverages services, the increase in sales was attributed to the increase in sales revenue of other food service activities (46.2 per cent), followed by restaurants (31.9 per cent) and fast-food outlets (19.7 per cent).
This increase in retail sales and sales of food and beverages was in line with the increase in domestic demand for certain goods and services due to travel restrictions abroad. In addition, permission for food premises to operate at the normal capacity since July 27, 2020 following the COVID-19 outbreak in the country during that time period also contributed to the significant increase in sales of food and beverages services.
As compared to the first quarter (Q1) 2021, the RSI in Q2 2021 recorded an increase of 2.5 per cent mainly due to an increase in sales of furniture and household equipment by 27.8 per cent, followed by sales of textiles, wearing apparel and footwear by 17.6 per cent; sales of electrical household appliances and lighting equipment in specialised stores (8.7 per cent); sales in department store (7.4 per cent); and sales in supermarket (4.7 per cent).
The F&BSI recorded a decrease of 3.3 per cent in Q2 2021, compared to Q1 2021 mainly due to the decrease in sales revenue of beverage serving activities by 19.3 per cent, followed by restaurants by 4.3 per cent and fast-food outlets by 0.1 per cent.
The RSI and F&BSI are preliminary indicators of economic performance for both activities. They provide an outlook for consumer spending trends in Brunei Darussalam on a quarterly basis.
Full reports of both activities are available from the Department of Economic Planning and Statistic (JPES) website www.deps.gov.bn.
Source: https://borneobulletin.com.bn/retail-sales-index-sees-9-9pc-increase/