Retail sales were on the rocky road to recovery in July, the first full month with shops reopened, after the second-quarter’s “circuit-breaker” shutdown.
This is an improvement from the 27.7 per cent plunge in June, said the Department of Statistics (SingStat) on Friday
Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales fell 7.7 per cent year-on-year, figures released by SingStat showed.
Compared to June, seasonally adjusted retail sales saw a 27.4 per cent increase month-on-month in July – this was attributed to a lower base in the previous month, when most physical stores were closed until Jun 18, before Phase 2 of Singapore’s reopening began.
The estimated total retail sales value in July was about S$3.3 billion, with online retail sales making up an estimated 11.0 per cent.
Retail sales in the F&B Sector
Sales of F&B services fell 25.4 per cent year-on-year, compared to the 43.6 per cent decline in the previous month, said SingStat.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, sales of F&B services grew 29.2 per cent in July over the previous month.
The growth was mainly attributed to the lower base in June, when food & beverage establishments operated on a takeaway or delivery basis until Jun 18.
The turnover of restaurants and food caterers declined 29.9 per cent and 45.2 per cent respectively in July this year compared to July 2019.
“Similarly, cafes, food courts and other eating places and fast food outlets recorded lower sales of 19.6 per cent and 11.5 per cent respectively during this period,” SingStat added.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, turnover of restaurants, cafes, food courts and other eating places as well as fast food outlets grew by between 7.2 per cent and 61.0 per cent compared to the previous month, with more people dining in at food and beverage establishments in Phase 2.
We can say that these sectors are still affected by low tourism in the city-state.