Hong Kong retail sales plunge 14.6 per cent for February in sharpest dive in 19 months, industry leader predicts more shop closures
- Year-on-year decline to HK$25.2 billion shows how anti-epidemic curbs have hammered the retail sector, government says
- Industry leader predicts a looming shutdown of shops in April despite expected relaxation of social-distancing rules
Hong Kong retail sales plunged 14.6 per cent in February, the sharpest rate in 19 months under stringent social-distancing curbs amid the city’s fifth wave of Covid-19, with an industry leader predicting a “bleak” outlook for businesses and a looming closure of shops.
The year-on-year decline to HK$25.2 billion (US$3.2 billion) in sales showed the effects of tightened anti-epidemic measures put in place to cope with a rapidly worsening health crisis, a government spokesman said on Thursday.
“This led to a drastic fall in people flow and weaker consumption sentiment,” he said. “The local epidemic has shown signs of easing of late, [but] the retail sector will continue to face notable pressure in the near term.”
This is the worst retail sales have fared since July 2020, when it slumped 23.1 per cent.
The government said combining sales figures from the first two months of this year would be a better reflection of how the retail market had performed, given the Lunar New Year factor.
