[ad_1]
SINGAPORE: Retail sales in Singapore fell 8.5 percent year-on-year in July as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to affect the sector.
This is an improvement from the 27.7 percent drop in June, the Statistics Department (SingStat) said on Friday (September 4).
Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales fell 7.7% year-on-year, figures released by SingStat showed.
READ: The future of retail after COVID-19
READ: COVID-19 Drives More Wet Market Stalls Online, But Will They Be Here To Stay?
Compared to June, seasonally adjusted retail sales increased 27.4 percent month-on-month in July; this was attributed to a lower base in the previous month, when most brick-and-mortar stores closed until June 18, prior to Phase 2 of Singapore’s reopening. it started.
Excluding motor vehicles, seasonally adjusted retail sales increased 19.5 percent.
The total estimated value of retail sales in July was approximately S $ 3.3 billion, with online retail sales accounting for an estimated 11%.
Online retail sales from the IT and telecommunications equipment, furniture and home appliance industries, as well as supermarkets and hypermarkets accounted for 49.1%, 21.8% and 11.4% of the total sales of their respective industries.
Among the segments that were most affected by the retail drop in July are department stores, which recorded a 32.1% drop in sales; clothing and footwear (-27.7 percent); and watches and jewelery (-21 percent).
SingStat said the previous three segments “continued to be affected by the low tourist arrivals due to the global outbreak of COVID-19.”
THE A&B SECTOR FALLEN 25.4%
Sales of F&B services fell 25.4 percent year-on-year, compared with a 43.6 percent drop in the previous month, SingStat said.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, F&B service sales grew 29.2% in July compared to the previous month.
The growth was primarily attributed to the lower base in June, when food and beverage outlets were operating as takeout or home delivery through June 18.
READ: Great deal from Singapore to go online this year with ‘new norm’ shopping experience amid COVID-19 pandemic
READ: Facebook launches ‘Shops’ to showcase online stores
The total value of F&B services sales in June was estimated at S $ 665 million, and F&B online sales accounted for 21.1%, SingStat added.
The turnover of restaurants and catering companies decreased by 29.9% and 45.2% respectively in July this year compared to July 2019.
“Similarly, cafes, food courts and other places to eat and fast food establishments posted lower sales of 11.5 percent and 29.9 percent respectively during this period,” added SingStat.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the rotation of restaurants, cafes, food courts and other places to eat, as well as fast food establishments, grew between 7.2% and 61.0% compared to the previous month, with more people dining at food and beverage establishments in Phase 2.
Turnover from food suppliers also increased by 5.2 percent during this period, due to increased demand for meals prepared in the dormitories of foreign workers.
CHECK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
