This was followed by sales of footwear, allied products and other clothing accessories (+12.0 percent in volume); miscellaneous consumer durable goods (+5.7 percent); miscellaneous consumer goods (+5.4 percent); wearing apparel (+4.6 percent); commodities in supermarkets (+4.1 percent).
On the other hand, the volume of sales of jewellery, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts and of fuels decreased by 8.7 percent and 4.2 percent respectively in June 2006 compared with a year earlier.
Based on the seasonally adjusted series, the volume of total retail sales increased by 2.4 percent in the second quarter of 2006 compared with the preceding quarter.
These retail sales statistics are primarily intended to measure the sales receipts of goods sold by local retail establishments, for gauging the short-term business performance of the local retail sector. They cover consumer spending on goods but not on services.
Moreover, they include spending on goods by visitors in Hong Kong but not by Hong Kong residents outside Hong Kong. Hence they should not be regarded as a comprehensive indicator of overall consumer spending. In this context, it may be noted that the share of consumer spending on services in overall consumer spending has been increasing over time.
Users interested in the trend of overall consumer spending should refer to the quarterly series of private consumption expenditure (PCE), which is a major component of the Gross Domestic Product.
Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong
marketing@alchempro.com
