Retail sales fall 2.9% YoY in December

The total retail sales value for December was estimated at $4.6b, with 13.4% of sales coming from online transactions.

Retail sales in Singapore declined by 2.9% year-on-year (YoY) in December 2024, following a 0.5% drop in November.

Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales saw a 4% YoY decrease, extending the 1.1% decline in November.

On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, total retail sales fell by 1.5% (seasonally adjusted), whilst sales excluding motor vehicles dropped by 3.5%.

The total retail sales value for December was estimated at $4.6b, with 13.4% of sales coming from online transactions. This was lower than the 14.7% recorded in November, which had benefited from major online shopping events.

When excluding motor vehicles, total retail sales stood at $4b, with 15.4% of sales made online.

Several industries experienced notable YoY declines. The Computer & Telecommunications Equipment sector recorded the largest drop at -13.1%, followed by Mini-marts & Convenience Stores (-9.3%) and Wearing Apparel & Footwear (-6.7%).

In contrast, some industries saw positive growth, including Food & Alcohol (+9.4%), Motor Vehicles (+6.0%), and Cosmetics, Toiletries & Medical Goods (+2.2%).

On a MoM basis, industries that saw the biggest declines included Wearing Apparel & Footwear (-11.6%), Mini-marts & Convenience Stores (-8.5%), and Watches & Jewellery (-6.0%).

However, Motor Vehicles stood out with a strong 13.2% increase, driven by higher demand for new cars. Food & Alcohol (+2.5%) and Computer & Telecommunications Equipment (+1.0%) also recorded MoM growth.

Online retail sales remained a significant portion of total retail sales, although slightly lower than in November. Amongst the industries, Computer & Telecommunications Equipment had the highest online sales proportion at 50.9%, followed by Furniture & Household Equipment (33.4%) and Supermarkets & Hypermarkets (12.2%).