Singapore retail sales fall 0.4% in January, hampered by later Chinese New Year timing
The drop misses forecast of 2.8% growth and reverses December’s 2.5% gain
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[SINGAPORE] Retail sales in Singapore swung to a 0.4 per cent year-on-year decline in January 2026, as the shift in Chinese New Year timing from January to February stripped out a major spending boost compared with a year earlier.
The decline reversed the revised 2.5 per cent growth recorded in December 2025, data from the Department of Statistics showed on Thursday (Mar 5).
January’s figure also missed private-sector economists’ median forecast of 2.8 per cent growth, according to a Bloomberg poll.
Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales tumbled 2.8 per cent against December’s 1.8 per cent expansion.
On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, retail sales rose 6.1 per cent, reversing December’s 2.7 per cent contraction.
Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales grew 7.1 per cent in January on a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, against a decline of 3.4 per cent the month prior.
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Retail sales growth
Year on year: -0.4 per cent
Year on year, excluding motor vehicles: -2.8 per cent
Month on month, seasonally adjusted: 6.1 per cent
Month on month, seasonally adjusted, excluding motor vehicles: 7.1 per cent
Total retail sales value: S$4.6 billion
Year on year, sales grew in seven of the 14 categories:
- Food and alcohol: 1.6 per cent
- Motor vehicles: 15.6 per cent
- Furniture and household equipment: 1.3 per cent
- Recreational goods: 19.6 per cent
- Watches and jewellery: 15.1 per cent
- Computer and telecommunications equipment: 14.1 per cent
- Optical goods and books: 11.5 per cent
These categories posted a decline:
- Department stores: -12.3 per cent
- Supermarkets and hypermarkets: -9.7 per cent
- Minimarts and convenience stores: -2.7 per cent
- Petrol service stations: -9.7 per cent
- Cosmetics, toiletries and medical goods: -0.4 per cent
- Wearing apparel and footwear: -12.9 per cent
- Others: -14.9 per cent
Food and beverage services growth
Year on year: -3.4 per cent
Month on month, seasonally adjusted: 1.8 per cent
- Restaurants: -9.3 per cent
- Fast food outlets: -1 per cent
- Food caterers: 3.1 per cent
- Cafes: 9.3 per cent
- Food courts and other eating places: 0.9 per cent
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