Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated an improvement in the business of restaurants & similar establishments and retail trade in March 2017. Around 47% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments reported a year-on-year growth in receipts in March, up by 10 percentage points from February. The proportions of Chinese Restaurants (48%), Japanese & Korean Restaurants (56%) and Western Restaurants (35%) that reported a year-on-year rise in receipts went up by 30, 25 and 10 percentage points respectively from February. On the other hand, the proportion of interviewed restaurants & similar establishments reporting a year-on-year decline in receipts went down by 17 percentage points from February to 35%, with the corresponding proportions of Chinese Restaurants, Other Restaurants & Similar Establishments and Japanese & Korean Restaurants decreasing by 34, 24 and 19 percentage points respectively.
As regards retail trade, 50% of the interviewed retailers reported a year-on-year increase in sales in March, up by 20 percentage points from February. All of the interviewed Leather Goods Retailers showed a year-on-year rise in sales in March 2017. Moreover, the proportions of Adults' Clothing Retailers (55%), Department Stores (44%), Motor Vehicle Retailers (67%) and Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers (63%) that recorded a year-on-year growth in sales went up by 35, 33, 22 and 21 percentage points respectively from February. On the other hand, 27% of the interviewed retailers reported a year-on-year decrease in sales, down by 26 percentage points from February. The corresponding proportions of Adults' Clothing Retailers and Department Stores reduced significantly by 60 and 45 percentage points respectively, and the shares of Other Retailers, Supermarkets and Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers decreased by 25, 22 and 21 percentage points.
The interviewed restaurants & similar establishments anticipated a stable business performance in April, with 41% expecting their receipts to remain stable year-on-year, up by 7 percentage points from March. Among the various types of establishments, 52% of the Other Restaurants & Similar Establishments, 50% of the Japanese & Korean Restaurants and 43% of the Chinese Restaurants expected their receipts to stay stable year-on-year. Meanwhile, 25% of the Western Restaurants and 20% of the Local Style Cafes, Congee & Noodle Shops anticipated a year-on-year rise in receipts in April. On the other hand, 39% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments predicted a year-on-year decline in receipts, down by 8 percentage points from March, with the corresponding proportions of Japanese & Korean Restaurants, Western Restaurants and Chinese Restaurants decreasing by 19, 10 and 9 percentage points respectively.
Retailers expected a slight improvement in their business in April. The proportion of interviewed retailers that anticipated a year-on-year increase in sales in April went up by 3 percentage points from March to 25%. Among the various types of retailers, 80% of the interviewed Leather Goods Retailers, 37% of the Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers, 33% of the Department Stores and 25% of the Adults' Clothing Retailers expected a year-on-year increase in sales. On the other hand, 33% of the interviewed retailers expected a year-on-year decline in sales, down by 8 percentage points from March, with the corresponding proportions of Adults' Clothing Retailers, Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers and Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers dropping by 30, 21 and 20 percentage points respectively.
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 167 restaurants & similar establishments (accounting for 53% of the industry’s receipts) and 135 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.