Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the business climate improved markedly in 2023 compared to 2022, with receipts of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments and retailers showing year-on-year increases in each month throughout the year. Both industries saw comparatively large growth in receipts in June and July, which was attributed to a low base of comparison in 2022.
In December 2023, receipts of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments surged by 73.4% year-on-year; receipts of Western Restaurants and Chinese Restaurants soared by 106.4% and 104.3% respectively, while those of Japanese & Korean Restaurants fell by 6.0%. Meanwhile, sales of the interviewed retailers rose by 46.8% year-on-year in December, with significant growth in the sales of Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers (+79.9%) and Department Stores (+78.8%); in contrast, Supermarkets posted a decrease of 6.7% in sales.
In comparison with November, all types of interviewed restaurants & similar establishments and retailers recorded increases in receipts in December on account of the Christmas holidays. Receipts of the interviewed establishments grew by 14.0% month-on-month, with a notable rise in the receipts of Western Restaurants (+22.2%) and Chinese Restaurants (+19.1%). In addition, sales of the interviewed retailers went up by 23.6% month-on-month in December; sales of Adults' Clothing Retailers (+39.2%) and Department Stores (+33.0%) registered marked growth.
As regards the business expectations for January 2024, there were 36% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments expecting their receipts to decrease month-on-month, and the corresponding share for Western Restaurants reached 68%. On the other hand, about 22% of the interviewed establishments predicted that their receipts would increase month-on-month in January. For retail trade, there were 35% of the interviewed retailers expecting a month-on-month sales drop in January, with over half of the Motor Vehicle Retailers (64%) and Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers (55%) forecasting a decrease in sales. By contrast, around 30% of the interviewed retailers anticipated a month-on-month sales rise in January, and the corresponding proportions for Supermarkets and Leather Goods Retailers were 44% and 40% respectively.
The Business Outlook Index (BOI) that reflects the trend of month-on-month changes in receipts anticipated by the interviewed establishments was lower than 50 for both restaurants & similar establishments (43.1) and retail trade (47.1), indicating that the respondents from both industries expected a less favourable business outlook in January 2024 compared to December 2023.
The sample of the Business Climate Survey on Restaurants & Similar Establishments and Retail Trade comprises 229 restaurants & similar establishments and 161 retailers, which accounted for 53.5% and 70.6% of the respective industry’s receipts in 2019. The Survey results were not extrapolated. As a panel sample of establishments is used in this Survey, the changes in receipts in the reference month as compared to the month of comparison serve as reference indicators of the business performance of restaurants & similar establishments and retailers. The value of the BOI ranges between 0 and 100; an index value above 50 implies that the industry has higher business expectations for the coming month as against the reference month, whereas an index value below 50 indicates the opposite.
