Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that all types of interviewed restaurants & similar establishments and retailers registered a year-on-year fall in receipts in December 2022. Receipts of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments dropped by 28.4% year-on-year in December, with receipts of Chinese Restaurants decreasing by 38.8%. Meanwhile, sales of the interviewed retailers dipped by 44.5% year-on-year in December. Department Stores (-60.4%) and Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers (-57.7%) both posted a decline of over 50% in sales.

In comparison with November, receipts of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments went down by 9.6% in December 2022; receipts of Local Style Cafes, Congee & Noodle Shops dropped by 12.7% whereas those of Western Restaurants rose by 2.6%. Besides, sales of the interviewed retailers grew by 22.1% month-on-month in December; all types of interviewed retailers registered an increase in sales, with Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers (+47.6%), Adults' Clothing Retailers (+32.2%) and Department Stores (+29.9%) recording a notable sales growth.

As regards the business expectations for January 2023, there were 84% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments expecting their receipts to increase month-on-month; the corresponding shares for Chinese Restaurants (93%) and Western Restaurants (92%) surpassed 90%. On the other hand, only 5% of the interviewed establishments predicted that their receipts would decrease month-on-month in January. Meanwhile, 67% of the interviewed retailers forecasted a month-on-month sales growth in January. All of the interviewed Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers anticipated a rise in sales in January, and the corresponding shares for Department Stores (83%) and Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers (78%) exceeded 70%. By contrast, around 7% of the interviewed retailers expected a month-on-month sales decline in January, and the corresponding proportion for Motor Vehicle Retailers reached 46%.

The Business Outlook Index (BOI) that reflects the trend of month-on-month changes in receipts anticipated by the interviewed establishments was higher than 50 for both restaurants & similar establishments (89.3) and retail trade (79.7), indicating that the respondents from both industries expected a better business outlook in January 2023 compared to December 2022.

The sample of the Business Climate Survey on Restaurants & Similar Establishments and Retail Trade comprises 229 restaurants & similar establishments and 161 retailers, which accounted for 53.5% and 70.6% of the respective industry’s receipts in 2019. The Survey results were not extrapolated. The business performance in the reference month is reflected by the change in the receipts of the sampled establishments and retailers in the reference month as against the month of comparison. The value of the BOI ranges between 0 and 100; an index value above 50 implies that the industry has higher business expectations for the coming month as against the month of comparison, whereas an index value below 50 indicates the opposite.