January retail sales dip 0.4% as CNY shift dampens spending

Wearing apparel and footwear industry sales declined 12.9%.

Retail sales fell 0.4% year-on-year (YoY) in January, reversing the 2.5% growth in December 2025, according to the Department of Statistics.

Excluding motor vehicles, parts and accessories, sales declined 2.8%, after rising 1.8% in the previous month.

The decline was partly attributed to the shift in the Chinese New Year period to February, compared with January last year.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, however, retail sales rose 6.1% month-on-month in January, whilst sales excluding motor vehicles increased 7.1% from December.

The estimated total retail sales value for the month stood at  $4.6b. Of this, an estimated 14.4% were from online retail sales, lower than the 14.8% recorded in December 2025.

Excluding motor vehicles, total retail sales amounted to about $3.9b, of which 16.8% were online transactions.

On a year-on-year basis, the wearing apparel and footwear industry sales fell 12.9%, mainly due to lower sales of bags and footwear.

Department stores, as well as supermarkets and hypermarkets, also saw declines of 12.3% and 9.7%, respectively.

In contrast, sales of recreational goods rose 19.6% YoY, whilst motor vehicles, parts and accessories increased 15.6%.