Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that, attributable to the strong consumer sentiments before the Lunar New Year, the proportions of interviewed restaurants & similar establishments and retailers recording a year-on-year growth in receipts in January 2019 increased compared to December 2018. There were 48% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments reporting a year-on-year rise in receipts in January 2019, up by 12 percentage points from December last year; the corresponding shares of both Chinese Restaurants and Western Restaurants exceeded 50%. On the other hand, 22% of the interviewed establishments registered a year-on-year decline in receipts, down by 11 percentage points from December last year. The corresponding proportions of Western Restaurants (10%) and Japanese & Korean Restaurants (27%) reduced by 25 percentage points and 23 percentage points respectively.

As regards retail trade, 47% of the interviewed retailers recorded a year-on-year sales increase in January 2019, a growth of 9 percentage points from December 2018. The corresponding proportions of Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers (60%) and Department Stores (55%) surged by 40 percentage points and 18 percentage points respectively. Meanwhile, 37% of the interviewed retailers reported a year-on-year sales decrease in January, a drop of 6 percentage points from December last year. The corresponding share of Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers (44%) fell by 11 percentage points.

The interviewed restaurants & similar establishments expected a slowdown in business in February, with 74% of them anticipating their receipts to increase year-on-year or remain stable, down by 5 percentage points from January. Among the various types of interviewed establishments, 75% of the Western Restaurants and 78% of the Chinese Restaurants forecasted a year-on-year growth in receipts or stable performance in February, representing decreases of 20 percentage points and 6 percentage points respectively over January.

Retailers expected business to slacken slightly in February, with 65% of them anticipating their sales to increase year-on-year or remain stable, an 8 percentage point fall from January. Among the interviewed retailers, 78% of the Supermarkets and 56% of the Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers expected a year-on-year sales rise or steady performance in February, down by 11 percentage points and 17 percentage points respectively from January. On the other hand, 80% of the Motor Vehicle Retailers predicted a year-on-year sales decrease, a notable growth of 40 percentage points compared to January.

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, comprising 186 restaurants & similar establishments (accounting for 53% of the industry’s receipts) and 136 retailers (accounting for 70% of the industry’s receipts) after rotating some of the samples. The Survey results were not extrapolated and only reflect the assessment of the business performance and expectations of the sample restaurants and retailers.