SUNDAY, JUNE 6, 1982
3
RETAIL SALES IN FEBRUARY, 1982
***
THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY (SUNDAY) PUBLISHED THE PROVISIONAL RESULTS OF THE MONTHLY SURVEY OF RETAIL SALES FOR FEBRUARY 1982.
THE VALUE OF RETAIL SALES FOR THE ENTIRE RETAIL SECTOR IN FEBRUARY WAS ESTIMATED TO BE $3 466 MILLION, THE OVERALL RETAIL SALES VALUE INDEX FOR THE MONTH, AT 102, WAS THE SAME AS THAT FOR FEBRUARY 1981, BUT DECLINED BY 32 POINTS OR 24 PER CENT WHEN COMPARED WITH THAT FOR JANUARY 1982.
THE OVERALL RETAIL SALES VOLUME INDEX FOR FEBRUARY 1982 WAS 87, BEING 10 POINTS OR 10 PER CENT LOWER THAN THAT FOR THE SAME MONTH IN 1981 AND 28 POINTS OR 24 PER CENT LOWER THAN THAT FOR JANUARY THIS YEAR.
COMPARED WITH JANUARY 1982, DECREASES IN THE VALUE AND VOLUME OF RETAIL SALES WERE RECORDED FOR ALL MAJOR TRADE GROUPS AND SELECTED TRADES, EXCEPT FOR MOTOR VEHICLES WHERE THERE WAS A SLIGHT INCREASE OF THREE PER CENT IN VALUE TERMS OR ONE PER CENT IN VOLUME TERMS. THE RETAIL SALES VOLUME INDEX FOR DEPARTMENT STORES RECORDED THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DECLINE (DOWN BY 65 POINTS OR 45 PER CENT) FOLLOWED BY CLOTHING, FOOTWEAR AND ALLIED PRODUCTS (BY 63 POINTS OR 44 PER CENT) AND SUPERMARKETS (BY 65 POINTS OR 41 PER CENT).
+
COMPARED WITH FEBRUARY 1981, A GROWTH IN THE VOLUME OF RETAIL SALES WAS REGISTERED FOR FUELS AND CONSUMER DURABLES WITH THE IR RESPECTIVE RETAIL SALES VOLUME INDEXES UP BY 16 POINTS OR 18 PER CENT, AND TWO POINTS OR TWO PER CENT RESPECTIVELY. THE RETAIL SALES VOLUME INDEX FOR FOODSTUFFS, ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND TOBACCO STOOD AT 75 AND THAT FOR CLOTHING, FOOTWEAR AND ALLIED PRODUCTS STOOD AT 81, EACH BEING 25 PER CENT LESS THAN THAT IN FEBRUARY 1981. THE RETAIL SALES VOLUME INDEX FOR SUPERMARKETS ALSO RECORDED A SIGNIFICANT DECLINE (DOWN BY 23 POINTS OR 20 PER CENT).
THE FALL IN RETAIL SALES IN FEBRUARY 1982 WAS DUE TO THE OCCURRENCE OF THE CHINESE NEW YEAR IN LATE JANUARY, AS PEOPLE TENDED TO BUY LESS AFTER A MAJOR FESTIVAL.
TABLES 1 AND 2 (WHICH ARE SENT SEPARATELY BY FACSIMILE) AND THE RETAIL SALES VALUE AND VOLUME INDEXES BY SELECTED TRADES AND MAJOR TRADE GROUPS IN FEBRUARY 1982, WITH THE AVERAGE MONTHLY RETAIL SALES IN 1980 AS 100. A COMPARISON OF THE FEBRUARY RESULTS WITH THOSE OF THE PRECEDING MONTH AND THE CORRESPONDING MONTH IN 1981 IS ALSO SHOWN.
A REPORT DESCRIBING THE BACKGROUND, METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS OF THE SURVEY IN 1981 AND JANUARY 1982 HAS ALSO BEEN PUBLISHED.
14