Retail sector faces headwinds despite expected early 2025 boost

Expected GDP easing to affect retail sales growth this year.

Economists predict retail sales growth in early 2025 but note uncertainties clouding the outlook for the rest of the year.

RHB economists project Singapore’s GDP growth to ease to 3.0% in 2025 as slower economic growth in key trade partners such as the US and China weighs on export revenues.

The slowdown in GDP will likely reduce discretionary spending of households, said the experts.

"Retail demand may likely slow in tandem with easing GDP growth momentum across Asia and Singapore, which may dissuade domestic and tourism-related expenditure," RHB economists said.

RHBV added that the Ministry of Trade and Industry is also cautious about the outlook for tourism-related and consumer-facing sectors, such as the retail trade and food & beverage services sectors, due to the increased local outbound travel.

Still, RHB predicts an uptick in retail sales in Q1 2025, citing factors such as festive periods, robust labour conditions, and the second phase of CDC voucher distribution.

UOB economists, however, believe the $300 CDC voucher impact may be less pronounced due to previous distributions.

They expect additional CDC vouchers to be announced in the 2025 Budget, benefiting households and small businesses.

Follow the link s for more news on

RHB

UOB

Singapore retail sales

Reaching the people who run Asia's businesses is harder than it used to be.

Inboxes are crowded. Attention is short. The executives you most want to reach — the founders, CFOs, and operators who actually move budgets — are the hardest to find through the usual channels. If you're building a company, a category, or a reputation, you already know this.

We've spent twenty years building the room they read. Singapore Business Review is where senior decision makers in Singapore and across Southeast Asia come for business coverage they can't get elsewhere — in print, online, and in person at the summits and roundtables we host across seven markets.

If you have something these readers should know about — a point of view worth publishing, a product worth their attention, an event worth their time — we'd like to hear what you're trying to do.

Book a meeting

| Or download the media kit (PDF)

240,000 senior readers quarterly in print Top 1,700 Singapore companies reached

7 markets across Southeast Asia