People visit a chain store of the Hong Kong-based snack retail chain Best Mart 360° at Tseung Kwan O in Hong Kong, south China, on Dec 28, 2020. (WU XIAOCHU / XINHUA)

HONG KONG – The value of total retail sales in Hong Kong in October, provisionally estimated at HK$31.9 billion ($4.2 billion), increased by 3.9 percent year-on-year, official data show.

Provisional estimates showed that the value of total retail sales in the first 10 months of 2022 rose by 0.7 percent compared with the same period in 2021, according to data released by the Census and Statistics Department on Thursday.

A Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government spokesman said that the value of retail sales recorded an accelerated year-on-year increase in October alongside the disbursement of a new batch of consumption vouchers

A Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government spokesman said that the value of retail sales recorded an accelerated year-on-year increase in October alongside the disbursement of a new batch of consumption vouchers.

“Business of many types of retail outlet saw improvement, with sales of consumer durable goods, and jewelry, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts registering double-digit increases,” the spokesman said in a statement.

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Based on the seasonally adjusted series, the provisional estimate of the value of total retail sales increased by 5.0 percent in the three months ending October 2022 compared with the preceding three-month period.

Of the total retail sales value in October 2022, online sales accounted for 10.7 percent. The value of online retail sales in that month, provisionally estimated at HK$3.4 billion, increased by 34.7 percent compared with the same month in 2021.

For the first 10 months of 2022, it was provisionally estimated that the value of online retail sales increased by 23.8 percent compared with the same period last year.

The value of sales of electrical goods and other consumer durable goods not elsewhere classified increased by 11.4 percent year-on-year. Sales of jewelry, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts rose 13.6 percent while food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco and saw an increase of 2.1 percent.

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On the other hand, the value of sales of commodities in supermarkets decreased by 2.7 percent in October over a year earlier. This was followed by sales of commodities in department stores (-17.1 percent in value); wearing apparel (-5.8 percent); furniture and fixtures (-5.7 percent); and footwear, allied products and other clothing accessories (-3.7 percent).

Looking ahead, the HKSAR government spokesman pointed out that improved labor market conditions and the Consumption Voucher Scheme will continue to provide support to the retail sector, though tightened financial conditions will partly offset the effects.

As long as the local pandemic situation remains under control and the various restrictive measures can be relaxed in an orderly manner, consumption-related activities should gradually regain momentum, he added.