Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that as the Lunar New Year was in January last year, the proportions of interviewed restaurants & similar establishments and retailers showing a year-on-year growth in receipts in January 2018 decreased compared with December 2017. Among the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments, 31% registered a year-on-year rise in receipts in January 2018, down by 13 percentage points from December 2017. The corresponding proportion of Chinese Restaurants plunged by 50 percentage points to merely 9%. On the other hand, the share of interviewed establishments recording a year-on-year decline in receipts increased by 24 percentage points over December 2017 to 56%. The corresponding proportions of Chinese Restaurants (82%), Japanese & Korean Restaurants (56%) and Western Restaurants (63%) grew by 59, 19 and 16 percentage points respectively.
As regards retail trade, the proportion of interviewed retailers reporting a year-on-year sales increase in January 2018 went down by 13 percentage points from December 2017 to 48%. The corresponding shares of Supermarkets (22%), Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers (22%) and Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers (39%) decreased by 56, 45 and 33 percentage points respectively, while the proportion of Motor Vehicle Retailers (78%) increased by 33 percentage points. On the other hand, 37% of the interviewed retailers registered a year-on-year sales decline, up by 14 percentage points over December 2017. The corresponding proportions of Supermarkets (56%) and Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers (67%) both grew by 45 percentage points, and the share of Adults’ Clothing Retailers (65%) rose by 35 percentage points.
Restaurants & similar establishments were more optimistic about their business prospects in February 2018 when the Lunar New Year took place, with 24% anticipating a year-on-year rise in receipts, up by 9 percentage points from January. Among the various types of establishments, 48% of the Chinese Restaurants and 26% of the Western Restaurants predicted a year-on-year increase in receipts in February. Meanwhile, the proportion of establishments expecting a year-on-year decline in receipts went down by 12 percentage points from January to 24%.
Retailers also expected an improvement in their business in February 2018, with 37% predicting a year-on-year sales increase, up by 6 percentage points from January. Among the interviewed retailers, 80% of the Leather Goods Retailers, 67% of the Department Stores and 56% of the Supermarkets expected a year-on-year sales rise in February. Meanwhile, 24% of the interviewed retailers anticipated a year-on-year sales decline, down by 4 percentage points from January.
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.