Singapore retail sales rise 4.5% in October

This is up from 2.7% in September, with 10 out of 14 major categories recording growth

- Rosalind Ang

Singapore retail sales grew 4.5 per cent year on year in October, accelerating from the previous month, with most industries recording higher sales, data from the Singapore Department of Statistics released on Dec 5 showed.

Retail sales in September had grown 2.7 per cent year on year, revised down from a 2.8 per cent rise.

Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales grew 3.7 per cent in October, picking up from September’s revised 1.8 per cent expansion.

On a seasonally adjusted, month-on-month basis, retail sales rose 2.3 per cent in October, compared with a revised 1.7 per cent decline in the previous month.

Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales expanded 2.9 per cent month on month, against September’s 2.6 per cent contraction.

Singapore's retail sales started the last quarter of 2025 on a bright note, marking the eighth consecutive month of expansion, said DBS Bank senior economist Chua Han Teng.

Ten out of 14 major retail sales categories recorded year-on-year increases in October.

In particular, watches and jewellery and recreational goods experienced double-digit increases of above 20 per cent year on year.