Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the business performance of restaurants & similar establishments and retailers in October was less satisfactory than that in September. There were 32% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments recording a year-on-year rise in receipts in October, a decrease of 6 percentage points from September. The corresponding proportion of Western Restaurants tumbled by 21 percentage points to 21%. Meanwhile, 44% of the interviewed establishments reported a year-on-year decline in receipts in October, representing an 8 percentage point increase from September. The corresponding proportions of Japanese & Korean Restaurants (39%) and Western Restaurants (53%) rose by 17 percentage points and 16 percentage points respectively.
As regards retail trade, 40% of the interviewed retailers registered a year-on-year sales increase in October, a drop of 3 percentage points from September. The corresponding share of the interviewed Leather Goods Retailers showing a year-on-year sales increase in October fell by 20 percentage points from the preceding month to 80%. Meanwhile, 89% of the interviewed Supermarkets and 56% of the Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers recorded a year-on-year sales rise in October, up by 22 percentage points and 17 percentage points respectively from September. On the other hand, the proportion of interviewed retailers reporting a year-on-year decrease in sales edged up by 1 percentage point from September to 40%, with the corresponding proportion of Adults’ Clothing Retailers (70%) surging by 20 percentage points.
The interviewed restaurants & similar establishments expected their business to weaken in November, with 46% of them anticipating their receipts to decline year-on-year, an increase of 5 percentage points from October. The corresponding proportion of the interviewed Chinese Restaurants went up by 12 percentage points over the preceding month to 50%. On the other hand, the proportion of interviewed establishments predicting their receipts to remain steady year-on-year rose by 2 percentage points to 44%.
Retailers expected a slight improvement in their business in November as compared to October, with 29% of the interviewed retailers forecasting their sales to increase year-on-year, a growth of 2 percentage points from October. Among the interviewed retailers, 55% of the Department Stores and 39% of the Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers predicted their sales to rise year-on-year in November, up by 27 percentage points and 17 percentage points respectively from October. However, the corresponding proportions of Leather Goods Retailers (60%) and Supermarkets (44%) fell by 20 percentage points and 11 percentage points respectively. Meanwhile, 29% of the interviewed retailers foresaw a year-on-year sales decrease in November, down by 3 percentage points from 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, comprising 186 restaurants & similar establishments (accounting for 53% of the industry’s receipts) and 136 retailers (accounting for 70% of the industry’s receipts). The Survey results were not extrapolated and only reflect the assessment of the business performance and expectations of the sample restaurants and retailers.
