Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the business of restaurants & similar establishments was subdued in July, with the proportion of interviewed establishments reporting a year-on-year rise in receipts dropping by 6 percentage points from June to 34%. The corresponding proportion of Chinese Restaurants (35%) decreased by 11 percentage points, whereas the share of Japanese & Korean Restaurants (30%) went up by 8 percentage points. On the other hand, 31% of the interviewed establishments recorded a year-on-year decline in receipts in July, a growth of 4 percentage points from June.

Retail sales performance was relatively stable in July. The proportion of interviewed retailers reporting a year-on-year decrease in sales dropped by 10 percentage points from June to 35%. The corresponding proportion of Motor Vehicle Retailers (40%) went down by 30 percentage points. Meanwhile, 28% of the interviewed retailers recorded steady sales year-on-year, a 10 percentage point rise from the preceding month. By contrast, there were 37% of the interviewed retailers registering a year-on-year sales increase, representing a slight decrease of 1 percentage point from June. The corresponding proportions of Leather Goods Retailers (20%) and Supermarkets (44%) decreased by 40 percentage points and 33 percentage points respectively, while the share of Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers (33%) rose by 22 percentage points.

The interviewed restaurants & similar establishments expected their business to be stable in August; 73% of them anticipated a year-on-year rise in receipts or steady performance in August, a similar proportion to July. Among the interviewed establishments, 73% of the Local Style Cafes, Congee & Noodle Shops predicted a year-on-year growth in receipts or stable performance in August, an increase of 8 percentage points from July, whereas the corresponding share of Western Restaurants (63%) fell by 11 percentage points. Moreover, 27% of the interviewed establishments forecasted a year-on-year decline in receipts, the same proportion as in July.

Retailers expected their business to slacken in August, with 38% of them anticipating their sales to decrease year-on-year, a 6 percentage point growth from July. Among the interviewed retailers, 61% of the Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers forecasted a year-on-year sales decline in August, up by 17 percentage points over the preceding month. Meanwhile, the proportion of interviewed retailers predicting a year-on-year sales increase dropped by 5 percentage points from July to 17%; the corresponding proportion of Leather Goods Retailers (20%) went down by 40 percentage points.

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). The Survey results were not extrapolated and only reflect the assessment of the business performance and expectations of the sample restaurants and retailers.