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Hong Kong Retail Sees December Gains
Jan 31, 2022 8:45 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Hong Kong retail sales remained strong in December, even as the overall rate of growth slowed from the previous month.
Retail sales of jewelry, watches, clocks and other valuable gifts jumped 24% year on year to HKD 3.82 billion ($491.1 million) for the month, according to data Hong Kong’s Census and Statistics Department released Monday. Sales across all retail categories rose 6% to HKD 33.31 billion ($4.28 billion), compared with a 7% gain in November.
Sales of hard luxury goods climbed 27% for the full year to HKD 38.77 ($4.98 billion) in 2021, while annual sales in all retail categories rose 8% to HKD 352.97 billion ($45.33 billion).
“The value of total retail sales increased further...in December along with the continued economic recovery, though the growth pace moderated somewhat from the preceding month,” a government spokesperson said. “For 2021 as a whole, total retail sales value rose...but was still 27% below the level in 2018 before the recession, as tourism stayed at a standstill.”
The number of visitors to Hong Kong fell 97% for the full year to 91,398. Of those, 65,721 came from mainland China, 98% fewer than in 2020, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
The ongoing lack of tourism and Covid-19’s recent resurgence in the municipality have presented difficulties for the retail market, the government noted.
“The latest wave of the local epidemic and the tightened anti-epidemic measures have weighed on consumption sentiment and posed renewed pressures on the retail sector,” the spokesperson explained. “It is essential for the community to work together with the government to contain the epidemic as soon as possible, so as to create conditions for the continued revival of retail business and the overall economy.”
Image: The Mongkok shopping district in Hong Kong. (Shutterstock)
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Tags:
Census and Statistics Department, hong kong retail, Hong Kong retail sales, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Jewelry, Rapaport News
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