In April 2024, Singapore’s retail sales fell by 1.2% year-on-year, a reversal from the 2.8% growth recorded in March. This decline was below the expectations of private-sector economists, who had anticipated a 1.9% increase according to a Bloomberg poll.

Total retail sales for April reached S$3.9 billion, with online sales making up 11.8% of this total, a slight decrease from 12% in March. When excluding motor vehicles, retail sales dropped 4.5% compared to the same period last year and fell 4% on a month-on-month basis.

Sector Performance:
Of the 14 retail sales categories, 11 experienced year-on-year declines. Notably, sales of wearing apparel and footwear recorded the steepest decline, with a 16.2% drop from the previous year and a 15.1% decrease from the previous month.

Growth Areas:
Despite the overall downturn, several categories saw growth:

Motor Vehicles: +25%
Food and Alcohol: +4.7%
Petrol Service Stations: +3%
Sales in the food and beverage (F&B) sector increased by 0.3% year-on-year, continuing from a 4.9% growth in March. However, on a month-on-month, seasonally adjusted basis, F&B sales decreased by 0.9%.

F&B Sector Insights:
Food caterers reported a significant increase in sales of 21.3% year-on-year, while cafes, food courts, and other eating establishments saw a 4% growth. In contrast, turnover for restaurants and fast-food outlets decreased by 7.5% and 0.7%, respectively.

On a month-on-month basis, food caterers (+12.8%), fast food outlets (+4.8%), and cafes, food courts, and other places (+1.5%) experienced increases, while restaurants saw an 8.8% decline.

F&B services receipts totaled S$931 million, with online sales contributing an estimated 24% of this amount.