Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that 36% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments reported a year-on-year rise in receipts in December 2018, the same proportion as in November. The corresponding proportion of Western Restaurants (50%) increased by 15 percentage points. Meanwhile, 33% of the interviewed establishments recorded a year-on-year decline in receipts, up by 3 percentage points from November. The corresponding proportion of Western Restaurants (35%) rose by 10 percentage points whereas that of Japanese & Korean Restaurants (50%) reduced by 5 percentage points.
As regards retail trade, 39% of the interviewed retailers registered a year-on-year sales increase in December 2018, down by 5 percentage points from November. The corresponding proportion of Leather Goods Retailers (80%) decreased by 20 percentage points, whereas the share of Motor Vehicle Retailers (50%) increased by 30 percentage points. On the other hand, 43% of the interviewed retailers reported a year-on-year sales decrease in December, a growth of 5 percentage points from November, with the corresponding proportions of Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers (56%) and Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers (70%) rising by 11 percentage points and 10 percentage points respectively.
The interviewed restaurants & similar establishments were quite optimistic about their business prospects in January 2019, with 78% of them expecting their receipts to increase year-on-year or remain stable, up by 5 percentage points from December 2018. Among the various types of interviewed establishments, 41% of the Chinese Restaurants forecasted a year-on-year increase in their receipts in January, a rise of 9 percentage points from December 2018; 65% of the Western Restaurants and 64% of the Japanese & Korean Restaurants anticipated their receipts to remain steady. Meanwhile, 22% of the interviewed establishments predicted a year-on-year decline in receipts, with the corresponding share of Japanese & Korean Restaurants (27%) reducing by 23 percentage points.
Retailers expected stable business in January 2019, with 73% of them anticipating their sales to increase year-on-year or keep steady, a 2 percentage point rise from December 2018. Among the interviewed retailers, 56% of the Supermarkets and 55% of the Department Stores expected a year-on-year sales rise in January 2019, up by 22 percentage points and 18 percentage points respectively from December 2018, while the corresponding share of Leather Goods Retailers (40%) decreased by 40 percentage points. On the other hand, 27% of the interviewed retailers anticipated a year-on-year sales decrease, with the corresponding proportion of Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers (30%) dropping by 20 percentage points.
According to the survey results for the whole year of 2018, the overall business performance of retail trade was relatively favourable, with over 60% of the interviewed retailers reporting a year-on-year sales rise in seven months throughout the year. However, the business performance of both retail trade and restaurants & similar activities showed a decline since September.
The sample of the Business Climate Survey on Restaurants & Similar Establishments and Retail Trade was selected based on the value of receipts of the establishments, comprising 186 restaurants & similar establishments (accounting for 53% of the industry’s receipts) and 136 retailers (accounting for 70% of the industry’s receipts) after rotating some of the samples. The Survey results were not extrapolated and only reflect the assessment of the business performance and expectations of the sample restaurants and retailers.
