Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that receipts of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments went up by 7.4% month-on-month in July 2024. All types of interviewed establishments registered a month-on-month increase in receipts, with receipts of Local Style Cafes, Congee & Noodle Shops and Chinese Restaurants rising by 7.8% and 7.3% respectively. In addition, sales of the interviewed retailers rose by 5.4% month-on-month in July; sales of retailers of Motor Vehicles, Adults' Clothing and Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles grew by 38.4%, 19.0% and 18.4% respectively.
In comparison with July 2023, receipts of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments fell by 13.3% in July 2024. All types of interviewed establishments posted a year-on-year decrease in receipts, with receipts of Chinese Restaurants, Japanese & Korean Restaurants and Western Restaurants falling by 18.3%, 17.0% and 14.2% respectively. Meanwhile, sales of the interviewed retailers slipped by 26.4% year-on-year in July, with a notable decline in the sales of Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers(-39.1%) and Leather Goods Retailers (-32.1%); yet, sales of Motor Vehicle Retailers surged by 80.8%.
As regards the business expectations for August, 31% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments forecasted a month-on-month rise in receipts, and the corresponding shares for Chinese Restaurants and Western Restaurants reached 46% and 40% respectively. On the other hand, about 17% of the interviewed establishments predicted that their receipts would decrease month-on-month in August. For retail trade, 35% of the interviewed retailers expected a month-on-month sales growth in August, with the corresponding shares for Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers (60%), Leather Goods Retailers (57%) and Department Stores (50%) standing at 50% or higher. By contrast, around 15% of the interviewed retailers anticipated a month-on-month sales drop in August.
The Business Outlook Index (BOI) that reflects the trend of month-on-month changes in receipts anticipated by the interviewed establishments was higher than 50 for both restaurants & similar establishments (56.9) and retail trade (60.0), indicating that the respondents from both industries expected a better business outlook in August compared to July.
The sample of the Business Climate Survey on Restaurants & Similar Establishments and Retail Trade comprises 229 restaurants & similar establishments and 161 retailers, which accounted for 53.5% and 70.6% of the respective industry’s receipts in 2019. The Survey results were not extrapolated. As a panel sample of establishments is used in this Survey, the changes in receipts in the reference month as compared to the month of comparison serve as reference indicators of the business performance of restaurants & similar establishments and retailers. The value of the BOI ranges between 0 and 100; an index value above 50 implies that the industry has higher business expectations for the coming month as against the reference month, whereas an index value below 50 indicates the opposite.