Retail sales up 2.7% in March due to higher F&B spending, Swift concerts

Retail sales in Singapore rose for the third month in a row, lifted by Taylor Swift's Eras Tour performances in March, but there is concern that the trend could weaken in the coming months.

- Claire Huang

Takings at the till increased 2.7 per cent in March from the yearago period, slowing from a revised 8.6 per cent gain in February, data from the Department of Statistics showed on May 3.

Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales grew 2 per cent, extending the 9.5 per cent increase in February. Ten of the 14 categories saw a rise in turnover.

Oxford Economics' economist Sheana Yue said the March data adds to wider evidence that the retail sector rebounded at the start of the year, with sales growing 1.3 per cent quarter on quarter in the first quarter, compared with a 0.3 per cent contraction in the fourth quarter of 2023.

She attributed the recovery to the return of tourists from mainland China after a visa-free travel arrangement began in February, and regional tourists who came here to catch concerts.

However, month on month and seasonally adjusted, retail sales dipped 1 per cent from February.

Ms Liu Yun, Asean economist at HSBC, said the 1 per cent dip was a one-off correction from the Chinese New Year holidays in February, when people shopped more for the festivity.