Retail sales inched up a measly 0.6% in January

Here's how each segment fared.

According to a release, retail sales (seasonally adjusted) increased 0.6% in January 2014 compared to December 2013. Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales increased marginally by 0.2%.
After seasonal adjustment, retail sales of optical goods & books, watches & jewellery, supermarkets, food & beverages, recreational goods, motor vehicles, department stores and furniture & household equipment went up between 0.6% and 7.4% in January 2014 over December 2013.

On the other hand, wearing apparel & footwear, medical goods & toiletries, provision & sundry shops and petrol service stations recorded declines of 0.4% to 8.2% in retail sales in January 2014 over the previous month.

Year-on-Year Change

Compared to January 2013, retail sales of food & beverages, supermarkets and department stores grew significantly by 18.0% to 44.9% in January 2014, partly due to Chinese New Year. Retail sales of medical goods & toiletries, watches & jewellery, provision & sundry shops, petrol service stations, recreational goods, optical goods & books and wearing apparel & footwear also reported higher retail sales of between 3.7% and 10.2% over the same period.

In contrast, retailers of motor vehicles reported a decline of 33.2% in sales in January 2014. Similarly, retail sales of telecommunications apparatus & computers and furniture & household equipment decreased by 5.5% and 1.4% respectively in January 2014 over January 2013.