People wearing face masks walk past a Chow Tai Fook store on Russell Street in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, July 29, 2020. (WU XIAOCHU / XINHUA)
Hong Kong’s retail sales in August surged 11.9 percent from a year earlier, the seventh consecutive month of growth and the biggest increase in four months, buoyed by the HK$36 billion ($4.62 billion) consumption voucher scheme and the stabilization of the local pandemic situation.
The value of total retail sales was provisionally estimated at HK$28.6 billion last month, according to government data released on Thursday. The rate of growth was 9.1 percentage points higher than the previous month.
The value of total retail sales was provisionally estimated at HK$28.6 billion last month, according to government data released on Thursday
Total retail sales for the first eight months of the year were provisionally estimated to have increased by 8.1 percent.
Footwear, allied products, and other clothing accessories rose 62.3 percent year-on-year, optical shops increased 60.4 percent, wearing apparel was up 35.7 percent and watches and clocks, and valuable gifts grew 28 percent, while the value of sales of commodities in supermarkets fell by 8 percent.
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The significant growth was mainly driven by the first consumption vouchers disbursed by the government in early August and the low comparison base of last year, said Annie Yau Tse, chairman of the Hong Kong Retail Management Association.
“The retail sector has not yet fully recovered, as there was still a drop of nearly 25 percent compared with August 2018, a normal year without the coronavirus pandemic and social unrest,” Yau said.
Retail sales could see slower growth in September, as consumer sentiment has started to wane after the first wave of consumption driven by the scheme, Yau said, adding that some people may save upcoming installments of vouchers for the year-end promotion season as Christmas is approaching, which could lead to a “lagged effect” of the scheme.
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