ON
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1983
RETAIL SALES OF CONSUMER DURABLES DROPPED BY 4 PER CENT IN VALUE TERMS AND 6 PER CENT IN VOLUME TERMS, WHILE THOSE OF CLOTHING, FOOTWEAR AND ALLIED PRODUCTS DECREASED BY 4 PER CENT IN TERMS OF VALUE AND 2 PER CENT IN TERMS OF VOLUME.
COMPARED WITH AUGUST 1982, THE MOST SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE VALUE OF RETAIL SALES WAS RECORDED IN FUELS (20 PER CENT), FOLLOWED BY CLOTHING, FOOTWEAR AND ALLIED PRODUCTS; CONSUMER DURABLES; AND OTHER CONSUMER GOODS (EACH OF 12 PER CENT), AND FOODSTUFFS, ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND TOBACCO (11 PER CENT).
IN VOLUME TERMS, RETAIL SALES OF CLOTHING, FOOTWEAR AND ALLIED PRODUCTS AND CONSUMER DURABLES INCREASED AT THE SAME RATE OF 6 PER CENT, WHILE THOSE OF FOODSTUFFS, ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND TOBACCO ; AND FUELS EACH RECORDED AN INCREASE OF 4 PER CENT. THE VOLUME OF RETAIL SALES OF OTHER CONSUMER GOODS WENT UP BY 3 PER CENT.
ANALYSED BY SELECTED TRADES
RETAIL SALES OF DEPARTMENT STORES INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN BOTH VALUE AND VOLUME TERMS OVER JULY 1983.
MOTOR VEHICLES ALSO SHOWED INCREASES IN BOTH THE VALUE AND VOLUME OF SALES.
SUPERMARKETS REMAINED UNCHANGED IN THE SALES VALUE BUT DECLINED MARGINALLY IN SALES VOLUME.
WHEN COMPARED WITH AUGUST 1982, SUPERMARKETS RECORDED SUBSTANTIAL INCREASES IN BOTH THE VALUE AND VOLUME OF RETAIL SALES. DEPARTMENT STORES RECORDED A LARGE INCREASE IN SALES VALUE BUT ONLY A SLIGHT RISE IN SALES VOLUME. RETAIL SALES OF MOTOR VEHICLES DROPPED IN BOTH VALUE AND VOLUME TERMS.
TABLES 1 AND 2 PRESENT THE REVISED FIGURES FOR JULY 1983 AND THE PROVISIONAL FIGURES FOR AUGUST 1983 OF TOTAL RETAIL SALES, AND OF RETAIL SALES VALUE AND VOLUME INDEXES BY MAJOR TRADE GROUPS AND SELECTED TRADES (WHICH FORM PART OF THE RELEVANT MAJOR TRADE GROUPS).
THE AVERAGE MONTHLY RETAIL SALES IN 1980 ARE TAKEN AS 100. COMPARISONS OF THE AUGUST RESULTS WITH THOSE OF THE PRECEDING MONTH AND OF THE CORRESPONDING MONTH IN 1982 ARE ALSO GIVEN.
ENQUIRIES ABOUT THE SURVEY RESULTS MAY BE DIRECTED TO THE WHOLESALE-RETAIL TRADE STATISTICS SECTION OF THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT, TEL.3-7216024.
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