SINGAPORE – Retail sales in Singapore saw a marginal rise in July from a year ago, with food and beverage services taking a hit due to stricter curbs on dining-in. <\/p>\n
Takings at the till grew 0.2 per cent year on year, lower than the 0.3 per cent rise forecast by analysts in a Bloomberg poll. <\/p>\n
This was lower than the adjusted 26 per cent jump in June, which was aided by a low base last year given Singapore’s Covid-19 control measures when physical retail stores were closed until June 18. <\/p>\n
Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales rose 2 per cent in July, according to data released by the Singapore Department of Statistics (SingStat) on Friday (Sept 3). <\/p>\n
Retail sales value – $3.4 billion in July – continued to be below pre Covid-19 levels, SingStat noted. <\/p>\n
On a month on month seasonally-adjusted basis, takings rose 0.8 per cent in July over the previous month. <\/p>\n
Online retail sales made up an estimated 13.9 per cent of total sales in July, compared to the 15.4 per cent recorded in June. <\/p>\n
Online computer and telecommunications equipment sales accounted for more than half of the industry’s total sales. <\/p>\n
Several segments, such as food and alcohol, watches and jewellery, supermarkets and hypermarkets and petrol service stations, saw year-on-year increases in July. <\/p>\n
However, sales of motor vehicles, department stores and optical goods and books shrank compared to a year ago. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, sales of food and beverage (F&B) services fell 5.9 per cent in July from a year ago, reversing the 7.6 per cent increase seen in June. <\/p>\n
This was due to the implementation of stricter restrictions in July, with dining-in suspended from July 22 as part of Singapore’s return to phase 2 (heightened alert) measures. <\/p>\n
Total F&B services sales value came in at $630 million in July, with online sales making up an estimated 41.5 per cent of takings. <\/p>\n
Within the sector, food caterers’ turnover fell 45.8 per cent compared to a year ago, when there was higher demand for catered meals from foreign worker dormitories. <\/p>\n
Restaurant sales also declined 21.6 per cent, due to stricter Covid-19 curbs on dining-in. <\/p>\n
On the other hand, food outlets and cafes, food courts and other eating places saw a jump in takings, due to higher demand for food deliveries.<\/p>\n
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