Retailers in Macao struggled to boost their sales between January and September of this year, according to data from the Statistics and Census Service (known by its Portuguese initials DSEC).
The latest figures indicate that takings in the initial three quarters of this year amounted to 53.48 billion patacas, a decrease of 16.9 percent in comparison to the same period in 2023. The current total is equivalent to 95 percent of the 56.42 billion patacas in retail sales registered from January to September in pre-pandemic 2019.
Watch and jewellery retailers experienced the greatest year-on-year drop in transactions during the first three quarters, notching just 11.74 billion patacas – a decrease of 26.6 percent. This was followed by sellers of leather goods (down 24.4 percent), communication equipment (a 21.7 percent decline) and department stores (down 20.7percent).
Meanwhile, the average sales volume over the initial three quarters plummeted by 21.2 percent year-on-year. Watch and jewellery retailers witnessed a fall in its sales volume of 35.3 percent against the same period last year. Sellers of leather goods, communication equipment and department stores registered substantial year-on-year dips of 26.6 percent, 24.1 percent and 22.7 percent in their sales volume.
[See more: Retail takings plunge by more than 16 percent between August and September]
In terms of the third quarter, there was a quarter-on-quarter increase of 2.5 percent in retail takings, with the total amounting to 16.59 billion patacas. But when analysed on a year-on-year basis, the takings for the third quarter fell by 15.5 percent.
A similar trend was evident in terms of the sales volume. When compared against the corresponding period in 2023, there was a drop by around 19 percent. Quarter-on-quarter, the sales volume grew by nearly 3 percent.
For the last quarter of this year, roughly 45 percent of retailers said they expected the sales volume to fall year-on-year, with only around 15 percent anticipating an increase. The remaining 39.5 percent forecast their business volumes to remain the same.
The current data reflects the plight that many local businesses are facing, as more and more residents redirect their spending to mainland China, where prices are cheaper and options are more abundant.
