By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-03-31 08:39:41 | Updated at 2025-04-02 00:04:55
1 day ago
Hong Kong’s retail sales dropped for a 12th straight month in February, falling by 13 per cent year on year, official figures released on Monday showed.
Provisional estimates by the Census and Statistics Department put the total value of retail sales at HK$29.4 billion for the month.
“The year-on-year decline in the value of total retail sales in February 2025 widened, partly due to the earlier arrival of Chinese New Year in late January this year as compared with mid-February last year,” a government spokesman said.
Taking the first two months of the year together to remove this effect, the value of total retail sales saw a narrower decline on a year-on-year basis than December 2024, he added.
But the department also noted that looking ahead, the retail sector would benefit from the various measures by the central government to boost the mainland Chinese economy and benefit Hong Kong.
It also pointed to the Hong Kong government’s proactive efforts to promote tourism and mega-events, and the sustained increases in employment earnings in the local labour market.
