Singapore retail sales growth cools to 0.6% in September
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Retail sales growth slowed notably from August as shoppers stayed away from buying big-ticket items.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
SINGAPORE – Retail sales momentum cooled in September as Singapore shoppers stayed away from buying big-ticket items. Analysts said, though, that sales may improve with increased tourism and the year-end festive season.
September takings at the till rose 0.6 per cent year on year, down from a revised 4.2 per cent increase in August.
Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales edged up 0.5 per cent versus the 4 per cent growth recorded in August, according to figures released by the Singapore Department of Statistics on Friday.
On a month-on-month and seasonally adjusted basis, retail sales turned negative, dropping 1.6 per cent in September. Excluding auto sales, they declined 0.8 per cent.
The biggest year-on-year increases came from food and alcohol (22.6 per cent) and cosmetics, toiletries and medical goods (10.3 per cent). This was mainly driven by higher demand for alcoholic products – including those sold in duty-free shops – and cosmetics, respectively.
Similarly, sales of apparel and footwear rose 8.1 per cent.
In contrast, retailers of more expensive items, namely computer and telecommunications equipment and furniture and household equipment, saw sales drop 12.7 per cent and 4.8 per cent, respectively, in September.
OCBC Bank chief economist Selena Ling said these softer retail sales patches suggest there could be some pullback in private consumption appetite for big-ticket items, as wage growth expectations cool.
On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, motor vehicle sales fell 7.7 per cent in September from August.
Similarly, retailers of watches and jewellery, and furniture and household equipment, saw declines in sales of 4.6 per cent and 3.9 per cent, respectively.
Conversely, month-on-month sales of petrol service stations rose 4.7 per cent, while those of cosmetics, toiletries and medical goods climbed 4.5 per cent.
The food and beverage sector held up better than shop retailers in September. The sector’s total sales rose 6.9 per cent year on year, easing from the 8.6 per cent increase in August.
Food caterers saw their takings swell by 24.1 per cent, while sales at restaurants and fast-food outlets rose by 3.7 per cent and 5.5 per cent, respectively. The sales at cafes, foodcourts and other eating places increased 7.2 per cent.
DBS Bank economist Chua Han Teng said that increased sales from the festive season would support retail sales, despite September’s slowdown.
“Other factors (that could support retail sales) include further legs to Singapore’s inbound tourism recovery – for instance, from Chinese tourists – helped by improving flight capacity; possible front-loading of purchases ahead of the upcoming GST (goods and services tax) hike; as well as cash support and Community Development Council vouchers to be disbursed in December 2023 and January 2024, respectively,” he added.
That said, cooler wage gains amid an uncertain economic environment could pose downside risks to consumers’ discretionary spending, he cautioned.
