Hong Kong retail sales fall for ninth straight month, with 7.3% drop in November Hong Kong’s retail sales dropped for a ninth consecutive month in November, falling by 7.3 per cent, year on year. Provisional estimates from the Census and Statistics Department on Thursday put the total value of retail sales at HK$31.7 billion (US$4 billion) for the month. A government spokesman said the value of retail sales continued to decline “alongside the change in consumption patterns and the relatively strong Hong Kong dollar” – factors that would continue to weigh on the performance of the retail sector. A breakdown of the provisional data showed the value of sales in apparel had fallen by 7.5 per cent, year on year. Sales of jewellery, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts also slipped by 5.4 per cent. Other areas with poor performance included motor vehicles and parts, which were down by 34.4 per cent year on year, and furniture and fixtures, which fell by 20.5 per cent. Sales of Chinese drugs and herbs plummeted by 19.3 per cent. Sales of electrical goods and other consumer durable goods also decreased by 18 per cent. Few categories bucked the trend and showed positive growth, with the sale of supermarket goods increasing by 3.5 per cent in November, compared with the same month in 2023. One improvement was in the category of alcoholic drinks and tobacco, which registered a 47.7 per cent year on year surge, although Hong Kong Retail Management Association chairwoman Annie Tse Yau On-yee said the rise was driven by the higher tobacco tax imposed last February. She described the overall sales figure of HK$31.7 billion in November as “not that low” when compared with other months last year, saying residents were less likely to travel and spend outside the city given there were no public holidays in the month. “Going ahead, we hope sales in future holiday-free months will not drop below this figure,” she said. The government spokesman said favourable measures rolled out by the central authorities, together with the city government’s various initiatives to boost market sentiment and salary increases, would be “conducive” to spending by both visitors and residents in the local market in the future. On December 1, Beijing revived a visa scheme that was suspended in 2015, allowing Shenzhen residents to make an unlimited number of trips to Hong Kong within a year. It was among measures unveiled by the central government to help boost Hong Kong’s economy. The initiatives included expanding a solo traveller scheme that allows residents from certain mainland cities to visit Hong Kong on an individual basis. Tourist arrivals in the city stood at 44.5 million for last year, according to provisional figures published by the Immigration Department. While the tally was 31 per cent higher than the one for 2023 year, it fell short of the Tourism Board’s forecast of 46 million and represented only 68.3 per cent of the 2018 record, when the city logged 65 million tourists. Tse said the spending power of tourists remains subdued and it would take time for high-end retailers to eventually benefit from increased visitor numbers. But in the meantime authorities should continue to roll out initiatives to lure more tourists, she added. “I believe that given time, as long as we can continue to keep up with the foot traffic, we are confident to do better in the future,” she said. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3293174/hong-kong-retail-sales-fall-9-straight-months-73-year-year-drop-november?module=top_story&pgtype=subsection (ICE HONG KONG)

Fonte notizia: South China Morning Post