The value of total retail sales in February, provisionally estimated at $29.5 billion, rose 30% compared with the same month in 2020, the Census & Statistics Department announced today.

After netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, the volume of total retail sales increased 31.7% year-on-year.

Noting that retail sales tend to show greater volatility in the first two months of a year due to the timing of the Lunar New Year, the Government said it is more appropriate to analyse retail sales figures for January and February taken together in making a year-on-year comparison.

Comparing the combined total sales for January and February, the value of sales of electrical goods and other consumer durable goods, not elsewhere classified increased 34.3%.

This was followed by sales of other consumer goods, not elsewhere classified (+15.4% in value); jewellery, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts (+3.2%); wearing apparel (+10.6%); commodities in department stores (+4.1%); motor vehicles and parts (+14.4%); and furniture and fixtures (+25.2%).

The value of sales of commodities in supermarkets decreased 8.6% for the period, followed by sales of food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco (-5.6% in value); medicines and cosmetics (-23.1%); fuels (-1.2%); footwear, allied products and other clothing accessories (-6.1%); Chinese drugs and herbs (-11.8%); books, newspapers, stationery and gifts (-6.7%); and optical shops (-11.2%).

The Government said retail sales increased sharply year-on-year in February, reflecting the distortion caused by the difference in timing of the Lunar New Year as well as an exceptionally low base of comparison early last year due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Taking the first two months of 2021 together, retail sales volume increased 2.5% from a year earlier.

Looking ahead, the Government pointed out that the retail trade will continue to face a difficult business environment in the near term as inbound tourism remains frozen.

It is thus pivotal to put the epidemic under control as soon as possible to create a favourable environment for the revival of cross-boundary tourism activities, it added.