SINGAPORE, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's retail sales grew by 13 percent year-on-year in August, compared to 13.9 percent in the previous month, the Department of Statistics (DOS) said on Wednesday.
Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales gained 16.2 percent in August, compared to 18.4 percent in July.
The year-on-year increase in retail sales was partly attributed to larger growths in the wearing apparel and footwear industry, food and alcohol industry, and department stores industry, the DOS said.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, Singapore's retail sales decreased by 1.3 percent in August over the previous month. In July, the retail sales edged up 0.7 percent month-on-month.
The estimated total value of retail sales in August was about 3.8 billion Singapore dollars (about 2.67 billion U.S. dollars). Of these, online retail sales made up an estimated 12.5 percent, compared to 12.6 percent in July 2022.
The DOS also said the sales of food and beverage services jumped 40.2 percent year-on-year this August, extending a 41.9-percent growth in the previous month. The significant gain in sales performance was attributed to the low base in August 2021, when strict restrictions on dining-in at food and beverage establishments were in place.
On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, Singapore's sales of food and beverage services fell 0.2 percent in August, compared to an increase of 0.1 percent in July.
The sales value of food and beverage services was estimated at 928 million Singapore dollars (651.91 million U.S. dollars) in August, of which the proportion of online sales was estimated at 25.7 percent, lower than the 26.2-percent figure recorded in July. ■