Thailand
Brunei retail sales up by 21.3pc
The performance of the Retail Sales Index (RSI) in Brunei Darussalam continued to show an increase of 21.3 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter (Q4) 2020, with an estimated retail sales value of BND455.6 million, the Department of Economic Planning and Statistics (JPES) stated in a release.
As for the food and beverages services index (F&BSI), it has also increased by 11.5 per cent compared to Q4 2019 with an estimated sales revenue of BND96.2 million.
For retail sales, all retail activities have shown an increase in sales driven mainly by the sales of computer and telecommunication equipment which increased by 83.4 per cent followed by the sales of electrical household appliances and lighting eequipment in specialised stores by 53.0 per cent; sales of hardware, paints and glass in specialised stores (23.1 per cent); sales in department stores (17.3 per cent); and sales in supermarkets (14.5 per cent).
As for food and beverage services, the increase in sales was attributed to the increase in sales revenue of beverage serving activities (72.8 per cent), followed by restaurants (13.8 per cent) and fast-food outlets (9.7 per cent).
The increase was in line with the increase in domestic demand for certain goods and services due to travel restrictions abroad.
As compared to the third quarter (Q3) 2020, the retail sales index (RSI) in Q4 2020 has recorded a growth of 11.9 per cent mainly due to increase in sales of books, newspapers and stationery in specialised stores by 87.5 per cent and sales of textiles, wearing apparel and footwear by 41.1 per cent.
As for the food and beverages services index, it has also recorded an increase of 13.9 per cent in Q4 2020 compared to Q3 2020 mainly due to the increase in sales revenue of Fast-food Outlets by 16.0 per cent.
RSI and F&BSI are preliminary indicators of economic performance for both activities and outlook for consumer spending trends in Brunei Darussalam on a quarterly basis.
Full reports of both activities are available from JPES’s website: www.deps.gov.bn.
Source: https://borneobulletin.com.bn/brunei-retail-sales-up-by-21-3pc/