Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that there were 21% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments recording a year-on-year rise in receipts or steady performance in September, a decrease of 2 percentage points from August. The corresponding proportion of Local Style Cafes, Congee & Noodle Shops (30%) went down by 6 percentage points, whereas the share of Japanese & Korean Restaurants (53%) increased by 21 percentage points. On the other hand, 79% of the interviewed establishments reported a year-on-year decline in receipts in September, representing a 2 percentage point rise from the preceding month. All of the interviewed Western Restaurants registered a year-on-year decrease in receipts in September.

As regards retail trade, 20% of the interviewed retailers registered a year-on-year sales rise or steady performance in September, down by 1 percentage point from the preceding month. The corresponding proportion of Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers (10%) fell by 10 percentage points from August, whereas the shares of Leather Goods Retailers (20%) and Motor Vehicle Retailers (78%) surged by 20 percentage points and 11 percentage points respectively. On the other hand, the proportion of interviewed retailers reporting a year-on-year sales decrease went up by 1 percentage point from August to 80%. All of the interviewed Adults’ Clothing Retailers recorded a year-on-year sales decrease in September.

There were 23% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments expecting their receipts to increase year-on-year or remain stable in October, an increase of 3 percentage points from September; the corresponding shares of Chinese Restaurants (13%) and Local Style Cafes, Congee & Noodle Shops (28%) grew by 8 percentage points and 2 percentage points from September respectively.

There were 24% of the interviewed retailers anticipating a year-on-year sales rise or steady performance in October, a 1 percentage point growth from September. The corresponding proportion of Leather Goods Retailers (40%) expanded by 40 percentage points from the preceding month, whereas the shares of Adults’ Clothing Retailers (35%) and Department Stores (27%) rose by 10 percentage points and 9 percentage points respectively. Meanwhile, all of the interviewed Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers expected a year-on-year sales decrease in October.

The sample of the Business Climate Survey on Restaurants & Similar Establishments and Retail Trade was selected based on the value of receipts of the establishments, which comprises 188 restaurants & similar establishments and 135 retailers that accounted for 50% and 65% of the respective industry’s receipts in 2018. The Survey results were not extrapolated and only reflect the assessment of the business performance and expectations of the sample restaurants and retailers.