January Hong Kong retail sales rose by a meagre 0.9 per cent according to data released by the Census and Statistics Department on Friday. 

That followed a revised estimate of a 7.8 per cent increase for December. 

A government spokesman attributed the “moderated pace” of January’s growth in part to a change in the timing of the Lunar New Year. “It would thus be more meaningful to examine the figures for January and February combined, when available, to assess the latest retail sales performance alongside other relevant factors.”

The spokesman said an ongoing increase in visitor arrivals alongside further recovery of handling capacity for tourists and the scheduling of ‘mega events’ in the territory would “bode well for retail businesses”.

“Rising household income and the government’s initiatives in boosting consumption sentiment should also provide support.”

By category, sales of jewellery, watches and valuable gifts rose by 25.2 per cent, with apparel up by 5.2 per cent, furniture and fixtures by 20.5 per cent and books, stationery and gifts by 27.8 per cent. 

Categories in decline included supermarkets, down by 9.3 per cent, food, alcohol and tobacco by 8 per cent, electrical goods by 26.2 per cent and department stores by 9.2 per cent. 

Online sales accounted for 6.5 per cent of overall Hong Kong retail sales in January, a decrease of 20.9 per cent compared with the same month last year. That followed a revised estimate of a 29.5 per cent year-on-year decline in December. 

After netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, retail sales measured by volume in January decreased by 1.2 per cent year on year, following December’s revised increase of 4.8 per cent.