Falling sales of electronics and apparel muted the overall figure for Singapore retail sales in April.

The year-on-year headline figure rose by just 0.7 per cent after sales of motor vehicles were excluded from the data. Sales of computers and phones fell by 9.8 per cent, while apparel and footwear sales fell by 3.4 per cent.

Supermarkets and hypermarkets slipped by 2.3 per cent and department stores by 1.7 per cent.

Categories which improved were led by petrol service stations, up 8.5 per cent, and medical goods and toiletries, up 7.8 per cent.  Sales of furniture and household goods rose 4.8 per cent.

Month-on-month retail sales declined 1.7 per cent and Statistics Singapore estimated online shopping accounted for just 4.4 per cent of total retail sales in April.

Food retailers also had a forgettable month, with total sales falling 1.7 per cent year on year. Within that category, fast-food outlets boosted sales by 5.4 per cent, at the expense of restaurants and cafes, which declined 4.3 per cent.