The value of retail sales in Macao fell by 15 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, according to the latest figures from the Statistics and Census Service (known by its Portuguese initials DSEC). It amounted to 17.58 billion patacas (US$2.18 billion), or 86 percent of that recorded in the same period in pre-pandemic 2019.
The result follows the 15 percent decline experienced in 2024 overall, when compared with 2023. Retail sales had surged in 2023 due to pent-up demand after Covid-19 restrictions were lifted, the DSEC noted in its statement. Demand started its steady decline in the first quarter of 2024 “owing to a relatively high comparison base, changes in consumption patterns, and other factors,” the bureau said.
In the first quarter of 2025, sales values of leather goods, cosmetics and related articles, department stores, and watches and jewellery tumbled by 24.2 percent, 22.3 percent, 18.8 percent and 17.3 percent year-on-year respectively, while the sales value of motor vehicles increased by 12 percent.
After removing the effect of price changes, the sales volume index fell by 17.8 percent year-on-year for the first quarter. The sales volume indices of watches and jewellery (-29.9 percent), leather goods (-23.8 percent), cosmetics and related articles (-20.9 percent) and department stores (-16.4 percent) registered notable year-on-year drops, while the index of motor vehicles (+11.4 percent) recorded growth.
[See more: ‘Rapid shifts’ in visitor spending behind Macao’s shrinking GDP]
Compared with the fourth quarter of last year, the value of retail sales overall fell by 4.6 percent in the first quarter of 2025, while their volume dropped by 5.5 percent.
The DSEC’s retail sales survey for the first quarter of 2025 revealed that 53.7 percent of local retailers surveyed anticipated a year-on-year decrease in sales volume in the second quarter of 2025, 37.8 percent expected the sales volume to stay stable and 8.5 percent forecast an increase.
Meanwhile, 62.5 percent of the retailers predicted that their prices would remain steady year-on-year in the second quarter, 29.6 percent foresaw a decrease and 7.9 percent expected an increase.
Earlier this week, three lawmakers called on the government to better support Macao’s small business sector – which has been suffering due to reduced spending by residents (who increasingly head to the mainland to shop) and visitors alike.
