The value of Macao’s retail sales fell 61.3 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter to MOP 6.92 billion (US$867.44 million) amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) announced on Monday.
A DSEC statement underlined that after removing the effect of price changes, the sales volume index dropped 61.5 per cent.
Among the major retail trade activities, the sales value of watches, clocks and jewellery (-87.3 per cent), leather goods (-72.8 per cent), goods sold in department stores (-71.7 per cent) and adults’ clothing (-71.2 per cent) suffered “relatively large year-on-year declines”, the statement said, adding that the sales value of goods in supermarkets (+13.7 per cent) increased.
In addition, the sales value of furniture & lighting rose by 91.3 per cent, “attributable to the opening of a large retail establishment in the second quarter,” the statement said without identifying the company. Sweden’s mega-retail operator IKEA opened its first full-fledged store in Macao in the second quarter.
As regards the volume of retail sales, the sales volume indices of watches, clocks and jewellery (-89.0 per cent), leather goods (-72.2 per cent), goods sold in department stores (-70.2 per cent) and adults’ clothing (-67.3 per cent) decreased year-on-year, whereas the index of goods sold in supermarkets (+12.7 per cent) recorded double-digit growth.
For the first half-year of this year, the value of retail sales dropped 52.8 per cent year-on-year to MOP 18.08 billion, while the sales volume index fell 52.7 per cent.
Sales volume is the number of units sold within a reporting period. Sales value is the amount of money received for something sold.
A total of 72.1 per cent of the retailers surveyed by the bureau said they anticipated a year-on-year decrease in their sales volume in the third quarter, 20.2 per cent expected the sales volume to stay stable and 7.7 per cent forecast an increase. Meanwhile, 76.7 per cent of the retailers predicted that retail prices would remain steady year-on-year in the third quarter, 18.5 per cent forecast a decrease and 4.8 per cent expected an increase. As compared with the second quarter, 51.6 per cent forecast sluggish business in the third quarter, whereas retailers expecting a stable performance (28.0 per cent) and those anticipating a favourable outlook (20.4 per cent) together accounted for 48.4 per cent of the total.
(The Macau Post Daily/Macau News)
