Hong Kong retail has just experienced its worst quarterly performance in 17 years, new government figures have revealed.
Retail sales were down 12.5% in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period a year earlier, although the data for March indicated a slight improvement on the previous two months, as the rate of decline slowed.
The luxury sector was among the worst hit, as sales of jewellery, watches and clocks and valuable gifts slumped by 20.3% in March, the South China Morning Post reported.
Sales of electrical goods and photographic equipment were also badly affected, falling 20%, while those of apparel were down 11%. Department store sales declined 5.4%.
A government spokesman blamed a slowdown in inbound tourism and an uncertain economic outlook, and did not expect improvements until those factors changed.
There were some signs that things might be getting better as tourist numbers in March were up on the previous two months.
Total arrivals for the month were 10.9% down on March 2015, but that was less than the 13% year-on-year fall seen in the first two months of the year.
(Source: WARC.com)