Shoppers in Singapore were freer with their money in January, according to the latest data released by the Singapore Department of Statistics on Friday.

Excluding motor vehicles, they spent 9.2 per cent more at retailers in January from the same month a year ago, and 0.2 per cent more compared with December last year.

Including motor vehicles, retail sales rose 0.1 per cent in January over a year ago and 0.6 per cent compared with December last year.

Sales of motor vehicles slumped 33.2 per cent in January from the year before but rose 2.5 per cent from December last year, the Statistics Department said.

Partly due to the festive Chinese New Year holiday falling in January this year, sales of food and beverages and supermarket and department store products jumped by double digits in January over the previous year.

Most other retailers - including sellers of clothes and shoes, watches and jewellery and recreational goods, as well as provision and sundry shops and petrol stations - also reported higher takings in January compared with the same month a year ago.