SINGAPORE’S retail sales grew 1.3 per cent year on year in January, reversing the 0.5 per cent decline posted in the month before, as higher motor vehicle sales helped to drive growth.

On a month-on-month, seasonally adjusted basis, retail sales fell 0.7 per cent, extending from December’s 1.5 per cent fall, according to Department of Statistics (SingStat) data released on Tuesday (Mar 5).

January’s total retail sales stood at S$4.3 billion. Online sales accounted for 11.2 per cent of this, 1.9 percentage points lower than December’s 13.1 per cent.

Excluding motor vehicles - which jumped 37 per cent along with higher COE supply - retail sales fell 2.1 per cent from the year-ago period, but grew sequentially – up 0.5 per cent on a month-on-month, seasonally adjusted basis.

Half of the 14 retail sales categories recorded year-on-year growth in January.

On a month-on-month, seasonally adjusted basis, sales grew for eight of the 14 categories. Department stores recorded the largest increase of 13.9 per cent; watches and jewellery posted the largest sequential fall of 12.7 per cent.

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Sales of food and beverage services fell 5.6 per cent year on year, reversing from the 0.4 per cent growth in December.

But sequentially, the opposite was true. Sales grew 0.3 per cent on a monthly, seasonally adjusted basis, reversing from the previous month’s 1.9 per cent fall.

“The lower F&B sales was partly due to Chinese New Year being celebrated in end-January 2023, while the celebration was in February this year,” SingStat said.

Food caterers logged year-on-year gains (8.6 per cent); cafes, food courts and other eating places rose 4.9 per cent.

But restaurants and fast-food outlets clocked lower sales (-16 per cent and -10.2 per cent, respectively).