Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that receipts of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments dropped by 18.7% year-on-year in March 2022, with Chinese Restaurants and Western Restaurants recording respective decreases of 29.0% and 28.4%. Meanwhile, sales of the interviewed retailers fell by 34.7% year-on-year in March; Department Stores (-51.7%), Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers (-51.1%), Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers (-44.1%) and Adults' Clothing Retailers (-43.7%) recorded a significant fall in sales, while Supermarkets (+11.4%) registered an increase.

In comparison with February, receipts of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments went down by 18.9% in March; receipts of Chinese Restaurants and Western Restaurants slid by 36.2% and 22.0% respectively, whereas those of Local Style Cafes, Congee & Noodle Shops edged up by 0.6%. Besides, sales of the interviewed retailers shrank by 32.9% month-on-month in March; Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers (-48.3%), Department Stores (-45.1%) and Adults' Clothing Retailers (-43.7%) saw notable sales decrease, while Motor Vehicle Retailers (+42.6%) posted a marked rise in sales.

As regards the business expectations for April, there were 33% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments expecting their receipts to decrease month-on-month; the corresponding share for Chinese Restaurants reached 40%. Meanwhile, 20% of the interviewed establishments predicted that their receipts would increase month-on-month in April, and the corresponding proportions for Chinese Restaurants and Western Restaurants both stood at 22%. On the other hand, 41% of the interviewed retailers forecasted a month-on-month sales drop in April, and the corresponding shares for Leather Goods Retailers, Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers and Department Stores were 60%, 48% and 46% respectively. Besides, 20% of the interviewed retailers anticipated a month-on-month sales rise in April. The corresponding proportion for Motor Vehicle Retailers was 36%.

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 (43.4) and retail trade (39.5), indicating that the respondents from both industries envisaged a less favourable business outlook in April compared to March.

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. The business performance in the reference month is reflected by the change in the receipts of the sampled establishments and retailers in the reference month as against the month of comparison. 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 month of comparison, whereas an index value below 50 indicates the opposite.