June Retail Sales Fall 24.8%

The value of total retail sales in June, provisionally estimated at $26.5 billion, fell 24.8% compared with the same month in 2019, the Census & Statistics Department announced today.

After netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, the volume of total retail sales dropped 25.4% year-on-year.

The value of sales of commodities in department stores decreased 7%.

This was followed by sales of other consumer goods, not elsewhere classified (-10% in value); food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco (-13.2%); jewellery, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts (-56.5%); electrical goods and other consumer durable goods, not elsewhere classified (-8.8%); wearing apparel (-38.8%); medicines and cosmetics (-57.4%); motor vehicles and parts (-17.9%); footwear, allied products and other clothing accessories (-39.7%); Chinese drugs and herbs (-29%); books, newspapers, stationery and gifts (-41.3%); and optical shops (-32.5%).

On the other hand, the value of sales of commodities in supermarkets rose 4.5%. This was followed by sales of fuels (+8.4% in value), and furniture and fixtures (+0.3%).

The Government said that retail sales continued to fall sharply in June from a year earlier, but the rate of decrease further moderated as the local epidemic situation abated in the month.

It added that the volume of retail sales registered a year-on-year decline of 32.5% in the second quarter, narrower than the 37% fall in the first quarter.

In light of the standstill in inbound tourism and local consumption hit by the surge in local COVID-19 cases in July and the tightening of social distancing measures, the operating environment for retail trade has turned more austere again.

The Government will monitor the developments closely.