A clothing store stands between shuttered retail spaces covered in rental advertisements in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, April 21, 2020. (ROY LIU / BLOOMBERG)

Hong Kong’s retailers continued to struggle under difficult conditions in June as infections in the city started rising at the end of the month into a third wave of the pandemic that has curtailed tourism, shopping and dining out.

The biggest declines by category were seen in sales of jewelry, watches and clocks and valuable gifts, as well as medicines and cosmetics, all down 57 percent from a year ago

Retail sales by value fell 24.8 percent from year-ago levels to HK$26.5 billion (US$3.42 billion) for a 17th straight monthly decline, improving on a revised 32.9 percent decline in May, according to a government release. That’s slightly worse than the median economists’ forecast for a 24 percent decline, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 

It’s the longest stretch of declines since a 24-month period from 2015 to 2017, the data show. Retail sales by volume also fell 25.4 percent from a year earlier.

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The biggest declines by category were seen in sales of jewelry, watches and clocks and valuable gifts, as well as medicines and cosmetics, all down 57 percent from a year ago. By contrast sales in supermarkets rose 4.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the release.

While the June results continued a trend of relative improvement since posting back-to-back months of declines greater than 40 percent in February and March, the respite is likely to be short-lived.

The third wave of infections accelerated in earnest in July and is leading the government to implement restrictive measures -- such as limiting restaurants’ capacity and hours -- putting more pressure on an economy already deep in recession.

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A government spokesman said retail sales continued to fall sharply in June from a year earlier, but the rate further moderated as the local COVID-19 situation eased that month.

However, with tourism at a standstill, and local consumption battered by the surge in infections in July amid stricter measures to curb the virus, retail sales have again been hard hit, the spokesman said, adding that the government will closely monitor developments.

“With inbound tourism remaining at a standstill and local consumption hit by the surge in local COVID-19 cases in July and the resultant tightening of social distancing measures, the operating environment for the retail trade has turned more austere again,” the government said in the release.

Hong Kong’s economy contracted 9 percent in the second quarter, according to government data released Wednesday. That was only marginally better than the record 9.1 percent drop seen in the first quarter, the data show.

The situation is causing retailers to increasingly provide online services to cater to consumers who are staying at home.

“We’ve done quite a lot to pivot and COVID-proof our business,” said Sarah Garner, founder and CEO of Retykle, a children’s resale clothing platform. About 80 percent of the firm’s sales are coming from its online platform this year, up from about 70 percent last year, she said.

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Retykle has closed its physical store for two weeks, Garner said. The firm is experimenting with live shopping events on Instagram, as well as offering personal shopping services where customers can meet with shopping advisers and choose clothes via a video meeting, she said.

“We’re still trying to maintain connection in a virtual way,” she said.

He Shusi contributed to this report