Retail sales reach $37.3b in January as online spending jumps 25%

Sectoral sales up 5.5% year on year in January.

The provisional estimate of total retail sales value in January 2026 reached $37.3b, up 5.5% year on year, according to the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD).

The volume of total retail sales rose 3.4% after price changes. Online retail sales value reached $3.0b—a 25.1% increase from the previous year—accounting for 8.1% of the total retail value.

Whilst consumer spending normally peaks before the Chinese New Year, the C&SD said the timing difference—17 February in 2026 and 29 January in 2025—may have affected the year-on-year comparison.

Electrical goods and consumer durables rose 38.7%, whilst jewellery, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts increased 31.1%. Motor vehicles and parts sales also rose 18.5%, whilst furniture and fixtures increased 16.4%.

Other increases in consumer goods include optical shop sales (+8.5%), wearing apparel sales (+5.7%), books, newspapers, stationery, and gifts (+4.6%), other consumer goods not elsewhere classified (+3.5%), and medicines and cosmetics (+1.3%).

Sales of footwear, allied products, and other clothing accessories decreased 19.9% in value, whilst fuel sales fell 17.5%. Commodities in department stores also decreased 11.1%, and food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco sales fell 10.5%.

Other decreases include Chinese drugs and herbs (-8.1%) and supermarket commodities sales (-5.0%).

Seasonally adjusted data for the three months ending January 2026 show a 2.4% value increase and a 3.1% volume increase compared with the previous three-month period, C&SD said.

Revised estimates for December 2025 show a 6.6% value increase and a 5.1% volume increase from the prior year.

A government spokesman said economic growth and inbound visitor numbers support local consumption.