HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s September retail sales fell 6.9% from a year earlier, reflecting the continued impact of a change in consumption patterns, government data showed on Friday.
Sales fell to HK$29.6 billion ($3.81 billion) in a seventh consecutive month of decline after a revised 10.0% decline in August, a 11.7% fall in July, a 9.7% fall in June, a 11.5% drop in May, a 14.7% drop in April and a 7% decline in March.
“The near-term performance of the retail sector would continue to be affected by the change in consumption patterns of residents and visitors,” a government spokesman said, adding China’s stimulus measures, among others, would support spending.
In volume terms, retail sales fell 8.7% year-on-year in September, compared with a revised 11.7% drop in August, a 13.2% decline in July, a 11.2% fall in June, a 12.9% drop in May, a 16.5% plunge in April and a 8.7% decrease in March.
For the first nine months of 2024, total retail sales decreased 7.6% compared with the same period in 2023, while the volume of total retail sales fell 9.2%, according to provisional estimates.
September visitor arrivals stood at 3.06 million, up 10.5% from a year ago period, data from the Hong Kong Tourism Board showed. That compared with 4.45 million in August and 3.92 million in July.
The number of mainland Chinese visitors stood at 2.29 million in September, up 6.1% from the same period in 2023. That compared to August’s 3.66 million and July’s 3.14 million.
Sales of jewellery, watches, clocks and valuable gifts fell 17.9% in September on year after a 24.4% decline in August.
Sales of clothing, footwear and allied products dropped 8% in September after a 12.6% decline in August.
($1 = 7.7774 Hong Kong dollars)
(Reporting by Jessie Pang and Donny Kwok; Editing by Philippa Fletcher)
