Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the business performance of restaurants & similar establishments remained subdued in November 2019. There were 47% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments recording a year-on-year decline in receipts in November, an increase of 4 percentage points from October. The corresponding proportions of Chinese Restaurants (59%) and Local Style Cafes, Congee & Noodle Shops (41%) rose by 10 percentage points and 9 percentage points respectively. Meanwhile, 30% of the interviewed establishments reported a year-on-year rise in receipts in November, representing a 2 percentage point decrease from October.

Retail trade business in November was satisfactory, with 53% of the interviewed retailers registering a year-on-year sales increase, a growth of 13 percentage points from October. The corresponding shares of interviewed Department Stores (73%), Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers (50%) and Motor Vehicle Retailers (78%) surged by 45 percentage points, 30 percentage points and 22 percentage points respectively. On the other hand, 31% of the interviewed retailers reported a year-on-year sales decrease in November, down by 9 percentage points from the preceding month.

The interviewed restaurants & similar establishments anticipated no significant improvement in business in December 2019, with 52% of them expecting their receipts to increase year-on-year or remain steady, a decrease of 2 percentage points from November. Among the interviewed establishments, the proportion of Japanese & Korean Restaurants (39%) that envisaged a year-on-year growth in receipts or stable performance in December reduced by 17 percentage points from November, whereas the corresponding share of Chinese Restaurants (61%) rose by 11 percentage points. On the other hand, 48% of the interviewed establishments foresaw a year-on-year decrease in receipts in December, a 2 percentage point rise from November.

Retailers predicted a slowdown in business in December, with the proportion of interviewed retailers expecting their sales to increase year-on-year or remain steady dropping by 3 percentage points from November to 68%. The corresponding share of Department Stores fell by 18 percentage points over the preceding month to 64%. Meanwhile, 32% of the interviewed retailers anticipated a year-on-year sales decrease in December, up by 3 percentage points from November.

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.