Macao’s retail sales volume index of watches, clocks and jewellery leaped 1,015.8 per cent in the second quarter year-on-year, according to the latest figures issued by the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC).
The retail sector’s sales value of watches, clocks and jewellery rose 957.9 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter.
The latest figures compare favourably with the same period in 2019, when the value of retail sales totalled MOP 17.86 billion.
The bureau defines the value of retail sales as “the total value of retail sales and receipts from rendering services during the reference period, irrespective of whether the sales are made in cash or on credit.”
Its volume index of retail sales “is an indicator that measures the changes in sales volume after adjusting for price changes.” The average sales volume index for the base period (from April 2015 to March 2016) is set as 100, according to the technical note of its quarterly Retail Sales Survey.
Macao’s total value of retail sales grew 200 per cent year-on-year to MOP 20.70 billion (US$2.58 billion) between April and June, while the sector’s sales volume index increased 219 per cent after removing the effect of price changes.
According to the DSEC, “the significant growth was due to the relatively low base of comparison in the same quarter last year.”
The bureau pointed out that most of Macao’s major retail activities recorded a year-on-year increase in sales value in the second quarter of this year such as leather goods (+504 per cent) and communications equipment (+460.4 per cent). However, supermarkets’ sales value dropped 11.3 per cent.
In the first half of the year, the value of retail sales rose 118.4 per cent to MOP 39.46 billion, while the sector’s sales volume index increased 130.4 per cent.
