Singapore's retail sales have risen to 7.6 percent in January after recording a slump of around 5.8 percent in December last year. This figure came from the Department of Statistics (Singstat) and was released early today.
According to the Market Insider, the retail sales growth in Singapore came faster than anticipated since it fell sharply in the previous two months before making a comeback early this year. The 7.6 percent increase reversed the decline in late last year's retail sales and this is more than what the economists' had expected. They predicted that the recovery would only see an increase of at least 2.6 percent which is only a quarter of the actual outcomes.
It was reported that online retail sales were the biggest contributor to the sales recovery as it makes up 4.8 percent of the increase. Additionally, the boost in sales was also attributed to the motor vehicles which also saw its biggest sales increase of 20 percent. Singstat pointed to January's Singapore Motorshow event as the main reason for the improved sales in the vehicle sector.
Likewise, the Straits Times reported that the higher demand during January's pre-Chinese New Year celebration played a big role in the retail sales recovery. Based on statistics, most of the money came from the sale of food apparel, footwear, medical goods and toiletries in department stores, groceries, fastfood and other food retailers like the catering service.
On the other hand, moderate sales growth was observed in the selling coming from the jewelry, furniture, household tools, recreational goods and convenience stores sectors. They contributed to an increase in sales by more or less 0.9 percent.
While the mentioned areas have demonstrated leaps in sales, the computer and mobile telecommunications profits have dropped by 11.5 percent. The low sales were partly blamed to the dwindling demand for mobile phones. Earnings in books and optical merchandise were also down by 1.6 percent.
Overall, although there were sectors that experienced a decline, the total retail sales in January reached a staggering amount of $4.2 billion. Barnabas Ga, an economist at United Overseas Bank, said that the sales boost early this year was seasonally driven. But still, he stated that it was a feat considering the fact that the US-China trade talks have caused a decline in the international market.
