Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that there were 30% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments recording a year-on-year rise in receipts or steady performance in October, an increase of 8 percentage points from September. The corresponding proportions for all types of establishments showed increases as compared to the previous month, with the shares of Chinese Restaurants (21%) and Western Restaurants (10%) rising by 13 percentage points and 10 percentage points respectively. On the other hand, 70% of the interviewed establishments reported a year-on-year decline in receipts in October, a decrease of 8 percentage points from September.
As regards retail trade, 25% of the interviewed retailers registered a year-on-year sales rise or steady performance in October, up by 5 percentage points from the preceding month. The corresponding proportion of Leather Goods Retailers (80%) surged by 60 percentage points; in addition, the shares of Supermarkets (89%) and Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers (20%) rose by 11 percentage points and 10 percentage points respectively, whereas the proportion of Motor Vehicle Retailers (67%) fell by 11 percentage points. Meanwhile, 75% of the interviewed retailers recorded a year-on-year sales decrease in October, a drop of 5 percentage points from September.
There were 24% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments expecting their receipts to increase year-on-year or remain stable in November, a 2 percentage point growth from October; the corresponding share of Western Restaurants (20%) rose by 10 percentage points, while that of Japanese & Korean Restaurants (37%) went down by 5 percentage points.
Meanwhile, 30% of the interviewed retailers anticipated a year-on-year sales rise or steady performance in November, an increase of 5 percentage points from October. The corresponding proportions of Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers (22%), Leather Goods Retailers (60%) and Supermarkets (89%) grew by 22 percentage points, 20 percentage points and 11 percentage points respectively, whereas the share of Motor Vehicle Retailers (56%) dropped by 11 percentage points.
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.
