SINGAPORE: Retail sales in Singapore increased by 79.7% in May, owing to a low base in the previous year’s same period, when physical stores were closed during the COVID-19 “circuit breaker” period. Retail sales growth in May was also higher than the 54 percent increase in April, according to official figures issued on Monday (Jul 5).
According to the Department of Statistics, the “huge gain” in May was due to a low base in May last year, when Singapore went into a circuit breaker phase to limit the COVID-19 outbreak and physical stores were shuttered for the whole month (SingStat).
Singapore’s total retail sales decreased a record 52.1 percent year over year in May 2020.
The reduction was the greatest since records began in 1986, surpassing April’s 40.5 percent drop.
According to SingStat, retail sales in 2021 will remain below “pre-COVID levels.”
Retail sales increased 61.6 percent in May, excluding motor vehicles, compared to 39.2 percent the previous month.
Online retail sales of computer and telecommunications equipment, furniture and domestic equipment, and supermarkets and hypermarkets, respectively, accounted for 54.4 percent, 30.7 percent, and 12.1% of total industry sales.
READ: Singapore’s economic growth in 2021 could exceed forecasts of 4% to 6%, says central bank chief
IMPORTANT YEAR-ON-YEAR IMPROVEMENTS
Except for supermarkets and hypermarkets, as well as mini-marts and convenience stores, all retail industries saw considerable year-over-year growth. Due to the poor base in May 2020, when most physical stores were closed for the entire month, this was the case.
Due to increasing demand for groceries last year as more people stayed home during the circuit breaker, supermarket and hypermarket sales declined 12.1%, while minimart and convenience store sales fell 9.2% in May compared to the same month in 2020.
Sales of watches and jewelry increased by 2,090 percent year over year, the biggest increase of any industry.
Due to the deployment of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) measures on May 16, most retail industries experienced sales decreases on a seasonally adjusted month-to-month basis.
After an increase in COVID-19 instances in the community, Singapore enacted more stringent procedures from May 16 to June 13, dubbed Phase 2 (Heightened Alert).
According to SingStat, sales of discretionary industries such as department stores, wearing garments and footwear, as well as watches and jewelry, declined between 21.1 and 27.9%.
READ: In May, Singapore’s core inflation rate increased at a quicker rate.
Computer and telecommunications equipment shops, on the other hand, had an increase of 18.9% in sales. Supermarkets and hypermarkets also saw a 12.3% gain in sales, owing to increased demand for laptops and food.
(Photo courtesy of SingStat)
In May, overall retail sales were anticipated to be around S$3.3 billion, with online retail sales accounting for 13.7 percent of total sales, up from 11.2 percent in April.
The entire retail sales value in May, excluding motor vehicles, was around S$2.8 billion, with online retail sales accounting for 16.1%.
STRONG F&B SALES DURING CIRCUIT BREAKER DUE TO LOW BASE
Food and beverage (F&B) service sales increased 46.4 percent year over year in May 2021, compared to 73.8 percent the previous month.
“The substantial surge in F&B sales can be attributed to the low base in May 2020, when dining-in at F&B outlets was prohibited for the entire month,” according to SingStat.
READ: F&B shops ‘delighted’ to restart dine-in service despite ‘difficult’ two-person rule
F&B sales, on the other hand, remained below pre-COVID-19 levels.
Due to Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) measures in place from May 16, when dining-in was not permitted, sales of F&B services declined 14.1 percent in May over the previous month on a seasonally adjusted basis.
In May, the overall sales value of F&B services was anticipated to be S$617 billion, with online F&B sales accounting for 38.8% of total sales.
This was more than the previous month, when there was a 24.6 percent increase, as more people purchased food online while dining-in was prohibited during the Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) period.
Except for food caterers, all F&B services industries saw “substantial” year-over-year sales increases in May. This was ascribed to the low starting point in 2020, when F&B establishments were only open for takeout or delivery for the whole month. When compared to the same period in 2020, when there was a stronger demand for catered meals in foreign worker dorms, food caterer sales fell 52.3 percent in May 2021.
(Photo courtesy of SingStat)
In May, the turnover of restaurants, cafés, food courts, and other dining establishments, as well as fast food outlets, declined between 1.5 and 26.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis.
This, according to SingStat, is due to the fact that dining-in is no longer permitted as of May 16. Similarly, sales of food caterers dropped by 3.6 percent over the same time period./n
