Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the business performance of restaurants & similar establishments and retail trade weakened in February 2019. There were 33% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments reporting a year-on-year decline in receipts in February, up by 12 percentage points from January. The corresponding proportions of Chinese Restaurants (43%) and Local Style Cafes, Congee & Noodle Shops (35%) rose by 20 percentage points and 12 percentage points respectively. On the other hand, 34% of the interviewed establishments registered a year-on-year increase in receipts, a drop of 14 percentage points from January. The corresponding share of Chinese Restaurants (24%) tumbled by 30 percentage points.
As regards retail trade, the proportion of interviewed retailers recording a year-on-year sales decrease in February surged by 32 percentage points from January to 69%, on account of the buoyant sales in January prior to the Lunar New Year in early February of this year, and a higher base of comparison resulting from the Lunar New Year that fell in mid-February last year. There were 80% or more of the Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers, Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers and Adults’ Clothing Retailers reporting a year-on-year sales decline, an expansion of 50 percentage points, 39 percentage points and 35 percentage points respectively. Meanwhile, only 18% of the interviewed retailers recorded a year-on-year sales rise in February, a decrease of 30 percentage points from January.
The interviewed restaurants & similar establishments expected their business to slacken further in March, with 55% of them anticipating their receipts to remain stable year-on-year and 30% forecasting a decrease in receipts, up by 5 percentage points and 4 percentage points from February respectively. Among the various types of interviewed establishments, 39% of the Local Style Cafes, Congee & Noodle Shops, 32% of the Western Restaurants and 30% of the Chinese Restaurants expected a year-on-year decline in receipts in March, up by 7 percentage points each from February.
Retailers were still cautious about their business prospects in March, with 64% of them anticipating their sales to increase year-on-year or remain steady, down slightly by 1 percentage point from February. Among the interviewed retailers, the proportion of Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers (60%) predicting a year-on-year sales decrease in March grew by 20 percentage points from February, while the corresponding share of Motor Vehicle Retailers (60%) fell by 20 percentage points. On the other hand, 91% of the Department Stores expected a year-on-year sales rise or steady performance in March, an 18 percentage point growth from February.
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.
