Retail Sales Survey for the 4th Quarter 2019

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that value of retail sales for the fourth quarter of 2019 increased by 4.3% year-on-year to MOP20.72 billion and sales volume index rose by 5.7%.

Among the major retail trade activities, sales values of Automotive Fuels and Goods in Supermarkets rose sizably by 17.0% and 13.3% respectively year-on-year in the fourth quarter, whereas sales values of Adults’ Clothing (-7.9%) and Motor Vehicles (-7.3%) decreased. Regarding volume of retail sales, sales volume index of Leather Goods surged by 22.3% year-on-year while that of Motor Vehicles declined by 13.5%.

Value of retail sales in the fourth quarter of 2019 grew by 14.5% as compared with the revised figure (MOP18.10 billion) in the third quarter. Sales value of Communication Equipment soared by 76.6% quarter-to-quarter and that of Adults’ Clothing expanded by 27.5%. Sales volume index for the fourth quarter rose by 14.8% quarter-to-quarter, with notable growth in the indices of Communication Equipment (+80.5%) and Adults’ Clothing (+24.3%); meanwhile, sales volume index of Automotive Fuels (-10.0%) decreased.

For the whole year of 2019, total value of retail sales went up by 0.5% year-on-year to MOP77.18 billion, of which Watches, Clocks & Jewellery (MOP15.85 billion), Goods in Department Stores (MOP13.34 billion) and Leather Goods (MOP10.28 billion) accounted for 20.5%, 17.3% and 13.3% respectively. Among the major retail trade activities, sales values of Automotive Fuels and Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles grew noticeably by 11.6% and 9.5% respectively, whereas sales value of Adults’ Clothing declined by 12.5%. Sales volume index in 2019 rose by 0.8% year-on-year; the indices of Leather Goods (+10.8%) and Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles (+9.3%) increased significantly, while those of Motor Vehicles (-14.2%) and Adults’ Clothing (-10.8%) showed marked decreases.