Retail sales fall 3.6% in February

The decline was partly due to the Chinese New Year.

Retail sales in Singapore decreased 3.6% year-on-year (YoY) in February, reversing the 4.7% growth seen in January, according to data from Singstat.

Excluding motor vehicles, sales fell 6.7%, compared to a 5.1% increase the previous month. The decline was partly due to the Chinese New Year, which was celebrated in February last year but in January this year.

For the combined period of January and February 2025, retail sales rose 0.8% YoY. Excluding motor vehicles, sales dipped 0.5%. On a seasonally adjusted basis, February retail sales rose 3.0% from January, whilst sales excluding motor vehicles grew 2.2%.

Most retail industries saw YoY declines. wearing apparel & footwear dropped 18.4%, department stores fell 14.6%, and supermarkets & hypermarkets declined 13.3%. In contrast, motor vehicles sales rose 20.0%, and optical goods & books increased 6.4%.

Total retail sales in February were estimated at $3.8b, with 12.3% from online sales, up from 11.6% in January. Excluding motor vehicles, sales were about $3.2b, with 14.6% online. Online sales made up 51.8% of computer & telecommunications equipment, 32.9% of furniture & household equipment, and 13.1% of supermarkets & hypermarkets.

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