The value of total retail sales in May, provisionally estimated at $30.5 billion, decreased 11.5% compared with the same month last year.

After netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, the provisional estimate of the volume of total retail sales for the month was 12.9% lower year-on-year.

Of the total retail sales value in May, online sales accounted for 8.7%. Provisionally estimated at $2.6 billion, the value of online retail sales increased 21.9% compared with a year earlier.

The value of sales of commodities in supermarkets decreased 3.4% in the month compared with a year earlier.

This was followed by sales of other consumer goods not elsewhere classified (-8.9%); jewellery, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts (-21.4%); wearing apparel (-18.8%); food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco (-4.1%); commodities in department stores (-21.1%); motor vehicles and parts (-29.8%); fuels (-11.6%); footwear, allied products and other clothing accessories (-11.7%); furniture and fixtures (-15.9%); Chinese drugs and herbs (-15.1%); and optical shops (-18.4%).

DateL 2024.07.02