Retail sales climb 1.8% YoY in May

Month-on-month, however, sales fell 0.2%.

Retail sales grew 1.8% YoY, but fell 0.2% MoM in May, translating to a sales value of $4.0b.

Of the total sales value, 11.8% was from online sales.

Department of Statistics Singapore (Singstat) attributed the year-on-year uptick to increases in sales of most industries.

Industries which recorded a sales increase in May were Food & Alcohol (+24.9% YoY); Cosmetics, Toiletries &  Medical Goods (+13.1% YoY); Optical Goods & Books (+8.2% YoY); Wearing Apparel & Footwear (+4.8% YoY); Motor Vehicles (+ 2.3% YoY); Watches & Jewellery (+3.5% YoY); Mini-marts & Convenience Stores (+5.0% YoY);  Computer & Telecommunications Equipment (+5.1% YoY). 

On the other hand,  Petrol Service Stations (-18.2% YoY), Furniture & Household Equipment (-0.7% YoY), Supermarkets and Hypermarkets (-2.2% YoY); Recreational Goods (-6.9% YoY), and Department Stores (-0.6% YoY) recorded a decline in sales.