According to the most recent figures released by the Department of Statistics, Singapore witnessed a 0.3 percent month-on-month increase in seasonally-adjusted retail sales in September, excluding motor vehicle sales which plunged 9.8 percent during the month.

Leaving out motor car sales from the figures, retail sales increased 3.1 percent year-on-year.

An inclusion of the motor car sales in the September figures, however, showed that the decline in the sales in the sector translated into a 0.3 percent year-on-year fall in overall retail sales for the month.

Other than the motor vehicles, the sales of the other items that saw a fall during the month included the sales of telecommunications equipment and computers – which plunged 6.7 percent – and the sales of books and optical goods, which dropped 6.4 percent. In addition, the sales of food & beverages, watches & jewellery, supermarkets, and department stores also witnessed a fall in September.

Meanwhile, retail sales in the sectors which reported a month-on-month increase of between 3.1 percent and 5.7 percent included medical goods & toiletries, furniture & household equipment, apparels and footwear, and petrol service stations.

In the opinion of the analysts at Citibank, the retail sales statistics for September clearly reflected the fact that volatility in the financial market led to the deterioration in consumer sentiment, resulting in a rather dismal performance of the so-called ‘big ticket’ items.