Retail Sales Survey for the 3rd Quarter 2021

Among the major retail trade activities, sales values of Communication Equipment (+218.6%), Watches, Clocks & Jewellery (+208.5%), Leather Goods (+171.3%) and Department Stores (+96.9%) registered significant year-on-year growth, while the sales value of Motor Vehicles (-24.9%) declined. Meanwhile, sales volume indices of Communication Equipment (+241.2%), Watches, Clocks & Jewellery (+215.7%), Leather Goods (+181.3%) and Department Stores (+102.5%) showed substantial year-on-year rise, whereas the index of Motor Vehicles (-24.0%) decreased. For the first three quarters of 2021, the value of retail sales totalled MOP55.45 billion, double the amount in the corresponding period of last year; the figure represented a mere drop of 1.8% over the same period of 2019 (MOP56.44 billion), which implied that retail sales have largely returned to pre-pandemic levels. The increase in retail sales value was mainly driven by an uplift in the sales of Leather Goods, Communication Equipment and Watches, Clocks & Jewellery. In addition, the sales volume index for the first three quarters of 2021 soared by 115.7% year-on-year and grew by 3.9% from 2019.

Value of retail sales in the third quarter of 2021 dropped by 22.9% as compared with the revised figure (MOP20.71 billion) in the previous quarter. The sales values of Adults’ Clothing and Watches, Clocks & Jewellery fell by 36.9% and 30.8% quarter-to-quarter respectively, ascribable to a fall in the number of visitor arrivals resulting from the temporarily tightened entry and exit measures in August. The sales value of Supermarkets, however, grew by 17.0%. Meanwhile, the volume index of retail sales went down by 22.6% quarter-to-quarter, with sales volume indices of Adults’ Clothing (-33.3%) and Watches, Clocks & Jewellery (-31.0%) recording marked decreases; yet, the index of Supermarkets (+16.7%) showed an increase.

In respect of retailers’ comments, 66.8% of the retailers anticipated a year-on-year decrease in sales volume in the fourth quarter of this year, 29.2% expected the sales volume to stay stable and 4.0% forecasted an increase. Meanwhile, 69.0% of the retailers predicted that the retail prices would remain steady year-on-year in the fourth quarter, 24.2% foresaw a decrease and 6.8% expected an increase. As compared with the third quarter of 2021, about 62.0% of the retailers envisaging sluggish business in the fourth quarter, whereas retailers expecting stable performance (22.0%) and those anticipating a favourable outlook (16.0%) together accounted for 38.0% of the total.