Hong Kong’s retail sales improved slightly in October, dropping 8.8 percent from a year ago — the first time in 16 months that a single-digit decline has been recorded.
The fall was an improvement from a 12.8-percent drop in the previous month. Total sales value in October reached HK$27.4 billion ($3.5 billion), according to government data released on Tuesday.
Retailers have done their best to lure consumers through various promotion campaigns as October is usually a traditional peak season for the retail business. But tourists were few and local consumer shopping sentiment is comparatively low
Annie Tse Yau On-yee,
chairperson of the Hong Kong Retail Management Association
In terms of volume, October’s retail sales retreated 9.3 percent, compared with a revised 13.3 percent drop in September.
Sales in most categories were down, with medicines, cosmetics, jewelry and watches leading the decline. The drop in the value of sales of medicines and cosmetics was the sharpest at 39.5 percent, while the value of fuel sales rose by 5.9 percent.
A government spokesman said the narrower year-on-year decline in retail sales for October was mainly due to improved consumption sentiment as the pandemic situation stabilized that month.
But he warned that with the fourth wave of local infections escalating, the retail sales environment may deteriorate again in the near term.
Annie Tse Yau On-yee, chairperson of the Hong Kong Retail Management Association, believes a lower comparison base last year is the major reason for the improvement.
She noted that retailers have done their best to lure consumers through various promotion campaigns as October is usually a traditional peak season for the retail business. But tourists were few and local consumer shopping sentiment is comparatively low.
Hong Kong on Monday revived some of the toughest measures enforced to curb the pandemic as local infections continued to mount.
The measures, which were similarly implemented for a month from early July when the third wave struck, include the further tightening of social gatherings and the closure of a string of public entertainment venues.
With the tough measures reimposed, retailers are pessimistic about the business environment for December. But Tse said the decline in November and December would not be larger than that in the first quarter of this year.
With the total value of retail sales having plunged 27 percent year-on-year in the first 10 months of the year and the situation in the next two months would not be the worst, Tse predicted that annual retail sales for the full year will decline by 27 percent more or less.
