COVID-19 can be a drag, putting various companies out of business and countries through a recession.
It takes a miracle for these countries and businesses to get out of this negative state but sometimes, the miracles comes in the form of a few flat metal blocks.
S’pore Retail Sales Rise 6.6% in Sept As More People Buy New Phones
In Sep, there’s a 6.6% increase in retail sales thanks to various new phone launches.
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iPhone 13 and Galaxy Z, I’m looking at you.
The total sales in that sector are estimated at S$3.4 billion, although that figure is still below pre-COVID-19 days.
The 6.6% helped the economy by reversing the previous 2.8% decline in Aug.
Changes in Retail Sales by Industry
Unsurprisingly, online computer and telecommunications equipment (mobile phones) sales accounted for more than half of the industry’s total sales.
Looks like getting Jackie Chan and Hyun Bin as ambassadors for online shopping platforms is a good idea.
People also seemed to be stocking up for a cheaper Christmas gift for watches and jewellery sales grew 13.3% in that period as well.
On the other hand, optical goods, book sales, minimarts, convenience stores and recreational goods fell between 5% and 10.4%.
F&B Sales Increase
As compared to 2020, the F&B sector grew more than 4.4% as compared to the 6.7% decline in the previous month. This can amount to the easing of the COVID-19 restriction this year.
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On 10 Aug, fully vaccinated people can dine-in in groups of five until 27 Sep when the group size was reduced to two once again.
Despite the increase, the F&B sales value in Sep 2021 still remained below pre-COVID-19 levels.
In Sep, the total sales for F&B were estimated at S$669 million, of which, online sales made up of over 34.5%. This is lower than the previous month’s 39.3%.
Turnover for restaurants fell by 5.2% thanks to the restrictions imposed whereas fast-food outlets rose by 10.7%. Cafes, food courts and other eating places grew by 8.4% thanks to their ability to offer food to be delivered.
Food caterers also grew by 36.4% in Sep as compared to last year.
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Lau Kong Cheen, a senior lecturer of SUSS School of Business, is positive that the retail sale online will continue to grow for the rest of the year thanks to annual celebrations like Christmas.
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Featured Image: leungchopan/ shutterstock.com
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