Retail Sales Fall For 24th Month, Slump Worsens

Retail sales in Hong Kong slumped for the 24th consecutive month in January and recorded a bigger decrease from the month before.

Figures released by the Census and Statistics Department on Wednesday showed total sales value in January reached HK$32.6 billion, representing a year-on-year drop of 13.6 percent.

That's worse than the 13.3 percent drop in December 2020.

For the first time, online sales were mentioned in the government statement.

Online sales stood at HK$2.4 billion, accounting for 7.3 percent of the total value.

Of the categories that saw the biggest drop in sales, footwear, allied products and other clothing accessories tumbled 35.1 percent in January, while jewellery, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts fell 31.7 percent.

A government spokesman said retail sales continued to post a notable year-on-year decline amid the fourth wave of the coronavirus epidemic.

But he said people should also take into account the figures for February.

"The figure for January was conceivably distorted by the difference in timing of the Lunar New Year, which fell in mid-February this year but late January last year," the spokesman said.

"It would thus be more meaningful to examine the figures for January and February combined, when available, to assess the latest retail sales performance."

Looking ahead, he said the retail environment will still be difficult in the near term.

But if the city-wide Covid-19 vaccination programme goes smoothly, that should help boost the ailing sector and the broader economy, he added.

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