More than eight weeks into the promotion launched by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), retail outlets that The Straits Times spoke to said that shopper numbers remain largely unchanged.

The promotion offered GST-free shopping at 27 of the more than 30 retail outlets for an unlimited period.

'We don't really see customers coming in to make purchases because of the promotion and not many seem to be aware of it,' said regional manager for Sunglass Hut Singapore Alice Lim.

Absorbing the goods and service tax in exchange for a rental discount from CAAS has not been enough to overcome the overall slide in retail sales islandwide due to the economic downturn.

T3 is still some way from being fully utilised. Five airlines currently operate there, one of them being Singapore Airlines, which operates around half of all the flights going out of Changi.

Overall passenger traffic at Changi dipped 6.1 per cent last month, in tandem with the global decline in air travel.

To bring in more shoppers, CAAS is planning a fresh push on the No GST promotion in February/March next year. Details are to be confirmed.

Read the full story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.