SINGAPORE - Retail sales in Singapore rose 2.7 per cent in October compared to the previous year, but without the boost from car sales, they were down 4.6 per cent, figures from Singapore Department of Statistics showed on Tuesday (Dec 15).
Sales of motor vehicles in October shot up 61.8 per cent year-on-year, and were 7.9 per cent higher than in September.
On a month-on-month basis and seasonally adjusted, October retail sales edged up 1 per cent over September, but excluding motor vehicles, they dipped 0.3 per cent.
The total retail sales value in October was estimated at S$3.5 billion, higher than the S$3.4 billion in October 2014.
Besides cars, one segment continued to perform strongly. medical goods & toiletries saw sales go up by 11.3 per cent year-on-year.
Sales at supermarkets and department stores enjoyed small increases of 1.1 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively.
But all other segments suffered declines in year-on-year sales, with the biggest loser being telecommunications apparatus & computers (-19.4 per cent).
