Singapore retail sales (excluding motor vehicles) increased 61.7 per cent in May, but the figure was skewed significantly by the low base of the previous year when Covid-related movement orders effectively shut the offline retail sector down for a whole month. 

Of the total estimated retail sales in May of about SG$2.8 billion, excluding motor vehicles, online sales accounted for about 16.1 per cent. 

The largest online categories were computer and telecommunications equipment where e-commerce accounted for 54.4 per cent of total sales; furniture and household equipment (30.7 per cent) and supermarkets and hypermarkets (12.1 per cent).

May’s overall sales increase followed a 39.2-per-cent rise in April – however, Statistics Singapore says sales continue to track at lower levels than before the outbreak of Covid.