SINGAPORE’S retail sales fell 0.4 per cent year on year in December, reversing the 2.4 per cent gain of the month before, as most industries recorded declines in sales.

On a month-on-month, seasonally adjusted basis, retail sales fell 1.5 per cent, reversing from November’s 0.5 per cent rise, data from the Department of Statistics showed on Monday (Feb 5).

December’s total retail sales stood at S$4.7 billion. Online sales accounted for 13.1 per cent of this, 2.2 percentage points lower than November’s 15.3 per cent.

Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales fell 2.7 per cent from the year-ago period, and shrank sequentially – down 3 per cent on a month-on-month, seasonally adjusted basis.

Ten out of the 14 retail sales categories recorded year-on-year declines in December.

On a month-on-month, seasonally adjusted basis, sales fell for 11 of the 14 categories. Motor vehicles recorded the largest increase of 11.3 per cent; wearing apparel and footwear posted the largest sequential fall of 10.1 per cent.

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Factors that may have contributed to the reversal in December’s retail sales include higher outbound travel during the period, front-loaded purchases from major online shopping events in the previous month, and “some prudence” in consumer discretionary spending amid cooling wage growth, said DBS economist Chua Han Teng.

In particular, food and alcohol sales – which grew at a slower pace than in previous months – could have been affected by softer demand from tourists, he added.

Sales of food and beverage services rose 0.3 per cent year on year, extending the 1.4 per cent growth in November.

But sequentially, the opposite was true. Sales declined 1.9 per cent on a monthly, seasonally adjusted basis, extending the previous month’s 1 per cent fall.

Food caterers logged year-on-year gains (14.5 per cent); cafes, food courts and other eating places rose 3.8 per cent. But restaurants and fast-food outlets clocked lower sales (minus 4.8 per cent and minus 2.9 per cent respectively).