Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that, benefited from the extended Labour Day holiday in mainland China and other factors, restaurants & similar establishments and retail trade showed an improvement in business performance in May compared to April. There were 73% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments recording a year-on-year rise in receipts or steady performance in May, up by 8 percentage points from April. The corresponding proportion of Chinese Restaurants (76%) surged by 24 percentage points, whereas the share of Western Restaurants (74%) dropped by 11 percentage points. On the other hand, the proportion of interviewed establishments reporting a year-on-year decline in receipts in May reduced to 27%.

As regards retail trade, 35% of the interviewed retailers registered a year-on-year sales increase in May, a growth of 7 percentage points from the preceding month. The corresponding proportion of Leather Goods Retailers soared by 40 percentage points to 80%, and the share of Supermarkets (78%) rose by 22 percentage points. Meanwhile, the proportion of interviewed retailers reporting a year-on-year decline in sales decreased to 43%; concurrently, the corresponding share of Adults’ Clothing Retailers (40%) shrank by 30 percentage points.

The interviewed restaurants & similar establishments expected their business to slacken in June, with 34% of them anticipating a year-on-year decline in receipts, up by 7 percentage points from May. Among the various types of interviewed establishments, 32% of the Western Restaurants forecasted a year-on-year decrease in receipts in June, a rise of 21 percentage points from May, whereas the corresponding shares of Local Style Cafes, Congee & Noodle Shops (46%) and Japanese & Korean Restaurants (46%) each went up by 15 percentage points. On the other hand, the proportion of establishments predicting a year-on-year rise in receipts dropped by 3 percentage points from May to 21%.

Retailers expected no significant change in their business in June, with 36% of them anticipating their sales to decrease year-on-year, a 1 percentage point growth from May. Among the interviewed retailers, 70% of the Motor Vehicle Retailers forecasted a year-on-year sales decline in June, up by 20 percentage points over the preceding month, whereas the corresponding share of Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers (30%) fell by 30 percentage points. Meanwhile, 21% of the interviewed retailers predicted a year-on-year sales increase, the same proportion as in May.

The sample of the Business Climate Survey on Restaurants & Similar Establishments and Retail Trade was selected based on the value of receipts of the establishments, comprising 186 restaurants & similar establishments (accounting for 53% of the industry’s receipts) and 136 retailers (accounting for 70% of the industry’s receipts) after partial rotation of the sample. The Survey results were not extrapolated and only reflect the assessment of the business performance and expectations of the sample restaurants and retailers.