Sales growth in the retail sector fell to 1.1 percent last month on an annual basis, down from 3.1 percent the previous month, as the arrival of the inauspicious Ghost Month affected some businesses such as auto dealers, data released on Wednesday by the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed.
Retail sales were NT$390.1 billion (US$12.25 billion) last month, the highest sales figure on record for the month of August, ministry data showed.
Ghost Month, which falls on the seventh month of the lunar calendar, is a time when many consumers tend not to buy big-ticket items to avoid bad luck. It began on Aug. 4 and ended on Sept. 2 this year.
Photo: CNA
However, last month’s retail sales still rose for the 36th consecutive month on an annual basis and the growth was within the ministry’s estimate of between 0.5 percent and 3.5 percent, indicating that domestic consumption remained stable, the ministry said.
Sales were driven mainly by increased consumption at department stores, convenience stores, hypermarkets, apparel shops, cosmetics outlets, household appliance stores, and information technology and consumer electronics shops, the ministry said in a report.
That helped offset a drop in sales at auto dealers and gas stations, the ministry said, adding that sales of automobiles, motorcycles, auto parts and auto accessories decreased 5 percent last month, compared with an increase of 14.1 percent the previous month and ended four straight months of increases.
Overall, retail sales rose 3 percent to NT$3.17 trillion in the first eight months of the year the highest figure over the period, the ministry said.
Sales this month are expected to grow by zero to 3 percent year-on-year to between NT$389.6 billion and NT$401.2 billion, benefiting from celebration activities associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival, department stores’ annual sale promotions and the launch of new consumer electronics, it said.
Meanwhile, sales in the food and beverage sector grew 1.8 percent annually to NT$89 billion last month, also a record for the month of August and reversing from a decline of 3.1 percent the previous month, the ministry said in the same report.
The improvement was mainly due to Father’s Day and Lovers’ Day celebrations boosting restaurant sales, high temperatures and seasonal promotions increasing consumption of cold drinks, as well as steady demand for in-flight and group meals supporting catering services, it said.
From January to last month, total food and beverage sales increased 3.6 percent to NT$689.6 billion, also a record high for the eight-month period, the ministry said.
The sector’s sales this month are projected to increase 0.3 to 3.3 percent to between NT$81.5 billion and NT$83.9 billion on the back of firms’ store expansion plans and new product launches, it said.
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