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Singapore retail sales rise 11 percent in January

Singapore retail sales rose by double digits in January, as the Asian nation saw a peak in consumer spending ahead of the Chinese New Year (CNY), according to data released by the Department of Statistics Singapore.

SEE ALSO: Card payments in Singapore to grow by eight percent in 2022

For the month of January, retail sales in Singapore increased 11.8 percent to S$4.2 billion (US$3.08 billion), or 15.8 percent excluding motor vehicles, to reach $3.7 billion, boosted by spending linked to CNY, which occurred in early February, instead of mid-February like it did in 2021.

Online retail sales made up an estimated 12.9 percent of total retail sales in January, lower than the 14.4 percent recorded in December, when there were major online shopping events such as 12.12 sales.

By category, sales of watches & jewellery, wearing apparel & footwear, and department stores increased between 26 percent and 29 percent on a year-on-year basis, due mainly to pre-CNY spending. Similarly, petrol service stations registered a growth in sales of 25.5 percent, due partially to higher petrol prices.

Sales of food & beverage services increased 9.5 percent, the government agency added.
In contrast, sales of motor vehicles and optical goods & books fell 12 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively, during this period.

On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, retail sales fell 2.5 percent in January over the previous month. Excluding motor vehicles, seasonally adjusted retail sales declined 2.1 percent compared to December.

SEE ALSO: Singapore retail sales up 6.7 percent in December

The surge in sales in January comes on the back of a solid uptick retail sales of 6.7 percent in December.