Retail sales down 3.9% in March in Singapore

IN a lacklustre month for sales, retail sales slipped 3.9 per cent year-on-year in March, according to data from the Department of Statistics.

However, stripping out the sales of motor vehicles - which were down 19.3 per cent from March 2013 - sales still experienced a slight contraction, edging down 0.4 per cent.

Retail sales of optical goods & books, recreational goods, furniture & household equipment, watches &jewellery, provision & sundry shops and wearing apparel & footwear fell between one per cent and 4.8 per cent, the report showed.

At 4.7 per cent, medical goods and toiletries registered the strongest growth in sales of the various categories. Other categories which chalked up growth include department stores, telecommunications apparatus & computers, petrol service stations and supermarkets.

When comparing month-on-month, retail sales (seasonally adjusted) dropped four per cent. Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales were down just one per cent from February.

source: Business Time