Singapore retail sales – excluding cars – surged 19.8 per cent in June, not far behind May’s revised rate of 22.6 per cent. 

Statistics Singapore attributed the increase to the low base in June 2021 when international travel restrictions were in place, throttling demand from foreign shoppers. 

Of the $3.3 billion in total sales in June, 14.6 per cent were from online. The three categories with the largest portion of sales online were computers and telecommunications gadgets at 48.6 per cent, furniture and household equipment (29.6 per cent) and supermarket sales (15.2 per cent). 

In overall retail sales, apparel led the growth up by 92.4 per cent, followed by department stores (up 57.8 per cent) and watches and jewellery (53.6 per cent) – all due to the lack of tourists a year earlier, and the low baseline. 

The only categories to post declining sales were supermarkets, down by 11.3 per cent, and convenience stores, down by 4.9 per cent, reflecting higher demand for groceries in June 2021, when people were eating at home more due to the heightened Covid alert period.  

In the food and beverage sector, sales rose by 59.1 per cent, following May’s 40.1 per cent – again reflecting June’s low base due to restrictions on dining-in at F&B establishments during the heightened alert measures. 

Online sales of F&B accounted for 25.7 per cent of the $885 million spent in the category, slightly down on the 24.4 per cent recorded in May.