Retail sales in Singapore up 2.2% in October, boosted by motor vehicle sales
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Retail sales rose 1.9 per cent year on year from January to October this year.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
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SINGAPORE – Retailers continue to enjoy increased turnover in the lead-up to Christmas, with vehicle buyers helping to drive revenue higher in October.
Takings at the till increased 2.2 per cent from the same month in 2023, and follow the 1.9 per cent year-on-year increase in September, the Department of Statistics noted on Dec 5.
Retail sales rose 1.9 per cent year on year from January to October, undershooting the 2.8 per cent registered in the same period a year ago, said OCBC Bank chief economist Selena Ling.
“This points to some retraction in terms of consumer demand, which could be in line with the gradually cooling domestic labour market, given the external headwinds and also the tapering visitor arrivals,” she noted.
If motor vehicle sales were excluded, seasonally adjusted retail sales increased 1.2 per cent in October over September.
The biggest year-on-year rise was for vehicles – up 18.4 per cent – while food and alcohol outlay rose 5.5 per cent and furniture and household equipment spending increased 5.7 per cent.
Sales dropped year on year in other sectors, with the largest declines observed in computer and telecommunications equipment, down 10.9 per cent, and petrol service stations, where revenue fell 5.9 per cent.
“In particular, the computer and telecommunications equipment sales had been declining since January 2024, so there are no green shoots emerging domestically despite the global electronics demand pickup,” said Ms Ling.
DBS Bank economist Chua Han Teng said the year-on-year sales uptick early in the fourth quarter of 2024 gives hope that the positive momentum could sustain itself until the end of the year.
While there are indications spending will lift in the lead-in to Christmas, Mr Chua noted that more people travelling overseas during the year-end school holidays, armed with a strong Singapore dollar, would dampen the rise in retail sales. “Singapore’s resident spending abroad is set to recover to the pre-pandemic 2019 level in full-year 2024,” he added.
Total retail sales value in October came in at an estimated $4.1 billion, with online shopping accounting for about 12.7 per cent, down from the 13.8 per cent recorded in September.
Sales of food and beverage services rose 3.9 per cent year on year in October, extending the 1.6 per cent growth in September.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, sales of food and beverage services rose 1.4 per cent in October compared with the previous month.
The total sales value of food and beverage services was estimated at $997 million, with about 24.4 per cent from online sales. Food catering revenue rose 17.2 per cent, while restaurant turnover rose 4.8 per cent, but spending at fast-food outlets fell 1.5 per cent.
