Singapore retail sales were strong in February, surging 11.7 per cent year on year, and considerably up on January’s 2.1 per cent rise. 

However, a Statistics Singapore spokesperson attributed part of the strong rise to the timing of Chinese New Year which saw some stores close for two days in February last year creating a lower base. 

On a seasonally adjusted basis, retail sales increased just 2.0 per cent compared with January 2023. All those figures exclude motor vehicle sales. 

Of the estimated S$3.1 billion retail sales in February, 14.2 per cent were online, with 46.4 per cent of computer & telecommunications sales online, 29.8 per cent of furniture & household sales and 13.4 per cent of supermarkets & hypermarkets. 

By category, food & liquor posted the highest increase – up by 69 per cent, driven by alcoholic beverages and including sales through duty-free stores.

Sales of apparel & footwear, through department stores and of computers, telecoms equipment, optical goods and books rose by between 21.2 per cent and 38.1 per cent. The only category to decline was supermarkets & hypermarkets, down by 3.6 per cent, most likely reflecting more people eating out than a year earlier whenCovid restrictions still applied. 

Meanwhile, sales of food & beverage services grew by 21.6 per cent in February, a similar rate to January. 

Total sales were estimated at $898 million, with 23.2 per cent of those online – almost exactly the same as in January.