Singapore’s retail sales improve

The Singapore Department of Statistics (SingStat) announced on October 5 that the country’s retail sales in August dropped 5.7 percent year-on-year, an improvement from the 8.5 percent decline recorded in July.
Singapore (VNA) – The Singapore Department ofStatistics (SingStat) announced on October 5 that the country’s retail sales inAugust dropped 5.7 percent year-on-year, an improvement from the 8.5 percent declinerecorded in July.

The better performance was due to strong demand for both new and used cars,SingStat noted. Excluding sales from motor vehicles, Singapore’s retail salesfell 8.4 percent year-on-year.

The country’s estimated total retail sales valuestood at 3.4 billion SGD in August, with 10.9 percent coming from onlinetransactions.

Most retail industriescontinued to register year-on-year declines in sales in August. The departmentstores sector saw sales slump 35.3 percent, cosmetics, toiletries and medicalgoods sales fell 29 percent, while wearing apparel and footwear industriesdecreased 28.6 percent year on year.

Turnover from food and beverage (F&B) services was down 28.6 percent year-on-year,more than the 25.4 percent fall recorded in July. This was mainly due to thefood caterer sector as food catering services for the majority of foreignworker dormitories were no longer required from August, SingStat said./.
VNA

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