HSI news

The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) announced that the value of total retail sales in May 2016, provisionally estimated at $35.7 billion, decreased by 8.4% compared with the same month in 2015. The revised estimate of the value of total retail sales in April 2016 decreased by 7.5% compared with a year earlier. For the first five months of 2016 taken together, the value of total retail sales decreased by 10.8% compared with the same period in 2015. After netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, the volume of total retail sales in May 2016 decreased by 9% compared with a year earlier. The revised estimate of the volume of total retail sales in April 2016 decreased by 7.7% compared with a year earlier. For the first five months of 2016 taken together, total retail sales decreased by 10.2% in volume compared with the same period in 2015. Analysed by broad type of retail outlet in descending order of value of sales and comparing May 2016 with May 2015, the value of sales of jewellery, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts decreased by 18.7%. This was followed by sales of commodities in department stores (-5.9% in value); wearing apparel (-5.7%); other consumer goods, not elsewhere classified (-0.3%); electrical goods and photographic equipment (-25.2%); motor vehicles and parts (-6.9%); miscellaneous consumer durable goods (-34.6%); fuels (-2.2%); footwear, allied products and other clothing accessories (-6.3%); books, newspapers, stationery and gifts (-6%); furniture and fixtures (-6%); Chinese drugs and herbs (-7.2%); and optical shops (-8.8%). On the other hand, the value of sales of commodities in supermarkets increased by 1.5% in May 2016 over a year earlier. This was followed by sales of medicines and cosmetics (+0.3% in value); and food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco (+3.1%). A government spokesman indicated that retail sales stayed weak in May, with many types of retail outlet still registering year-on-year declines in sales. This was due partly to the drag from the slowdown in inbound tourism and partly to the more cautious local consumer sentiment amid the subpar economic conditions. The near-term outlook for retail sales is still subject to a large degree of uncertainty, depending on the performance of inbound tourism as well as the extent to which local consumption sentiment will be affected by the increased external headwinds and heightened financial market volatility. ☺