Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that there were 27% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments reporting a year-on-year rise in receipts or steady performance in December 2020, a decrease of around 1 percentage point from November. The corresponding proportion of Local Style Cafes, Congee & Noodle Shops (29%) went down by 3 percentage points, while the share of Chinese Restaurants (20%) rose by 2 percentage points. Meanwhile, 73% of the interviewed establishments recorded a year-on-year decline in receipts in December, an increase of 1 percentage point from November.

As regards retail trade, 31% of the interviewed retailers registered a year-on-year sales rise or steady performance in December, up by 4 percentage points from November. The corresponding proportions of Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers (22%) and Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers (39%) increased by 11 percentage points and 6 percentage points from November respectively, whereas the share of Supermarkets (56%) fell by 11 percentage points. On the other hand, 69% of the interviewed retailers reported a year-on-year sales decrease in December, a drop of 4 percentage points from November.

There were 21% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments expecting their receipts to increase year-on-year or remain stable in January 2021, a growth of 1 percentage point from December 2020. The corresponding shares of Local Style Cafes, Congee & Noodle Shops (33%) and Japanese & Korean Restaurants (42%) went up by 11 percentage points and 5 percentage points respectively. Meanwhile, 96% of the Chinese Restaurants anticipated a year-on-year decline in receipts in January 2021, a 6 percentage point rise from December 2020.

Moreover, 41% of the interviewed retailers anticipated a year-on-year sales rise or steady performance in January 2021, up by 12 percentage points from December 2020. The corresponding proportion of Department Stores (36%) rose by 27 percentage points, and the shares of Motor Vehicle Retailers (67%) and Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers (33%) both went up by 11 percentage points; moreover, the proportion of Adults’ Clothing Retailers (35%) grew by 10 percentage points while that of Supermarkets (56%) fell by 11 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, which comprises 188 restaurants & similar establishments and 135 retailers that accounted for 50% and 65% of the respective industry’s receipts in 2018. The Survey results were not extrapolated and only reflect the assessment of the business performance and expectations of the sample restaurants and retailers.