Hong Kong retail sales jump 31 per cent year on year in February, sharpest monthly rise in more than a decade
- Sales last month reached HK$33.1 billion according to provisional figures released by the Census and Statistics Department
- Authorities point to rebound in visitor arrivals, but analysts say impact was minimal and rise in figures related to comparatively low sales last year
Hong Kong retail sales jumped by 31.3 per cent in February from a year ago, the sharpest monthly spike in more than a decade, which the government attributed to a rebound in visitor arrivals.
Provisional figures released by the Census and Statistics Department on Friday showed sales last month reached HK$33.1 billion (US$4.2 billion), a slight drop from the HK$36.2 billion recorded in January.
The last time monthly sales figures jumped so much was in February 2010, when the number rose by 35.8 per cent.
Taking into account seasonal factors, such as the Lunar New Year holiday, total retail sales for the first two months of the year rose by 17.3 per cent compared with the same period in 2022, the department said. The holiday fell on February 1 in 2022, while this year it began on January 22.
The surge in retail sales could be attributed to the improvement of consumer sentiment and the sharp rebound in visitor arrivals, a government spokesman said. Last year’s poor figures, when the city was battered by the fifth wave of Covid-19 infections, also allowed plenty of room for improvement, he said.
“Looking ahead, the retail sector performance will continue to benefit from the recovery of private consumption and inbound tourism,” he said.
However, analysts said they believed the strong figures stemmed from the comparatively low base of last year and were less linked to the return of tourists, citing the weak sales performance of tourism-related goods.
They also maintained a pessimistic market outlook for March and April, despite the government rolling out a new round of consumption vouchers next month.
