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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1985
ANALYSED BY SELECTED TRADES, RETAIL SALES OF MOTOR VEHICLES ROSE SUBSTANTIALLY IN BOTH VALUE AND VOLUME TERMS WHEN COMPARED WITH AUGUST 1984. DEPARTMENT STORES RECORDED MODERATE INCREASES IN BOTH SALES VALUE AND VOLUME. SUPERMARKETS RECORDED A SLIGHT INCREASE IN SALES VALUE BUT A SMALL DECREASE IN SALES VOLUME. RETAIL SALES OF CONSUMER DURABLES OTHER THAN MOTOR VEHICLES DROPPED IN BOTH VALUE AND VOLUME TERMS.
COMPARING THE THREE-MONTH PERIOD JUNE - AUGUST 1985 WITH THE SAME PER IOD IN 1984, RETAIL SALES OF MOTOR VEHICLES INCREASED CONSIDERABLY IN BOTH VALUE AND VOLUME TERMS. DEPARTMENT STORES RECORDED MODERATE INCREASES IN BOTH VALUE AND VOLUME TERMS, WHILE SUPERMARKETS SHOWED SLIGHT INCREASES. ON THE OTHER HAND, CONSUMER DURABLES OTHER THAN MOTOR VEHICLES DECREASED MODERATELY IN BOTH SALES VALUE AND VOLUME.
WHEN COMPARED WITH JULY 1985, RETAIL SALES OF DEPARTMENT STORES ROSE SIGNIFICANTLY IN BOTH VALUE AND VOLUME TERMS. MOTOR VEHICLES SHOWED MODERATE INCREASES IN BOTH SALES VALUE AND VOLUME. RETAIL SALES OF CONSUMER DURABLES OTHER THAN MOTOR VEHICLES DROPPED SLIGHTLY IN VALUE BUT REMAINED UNCHANGED IN VOLUME. SUPERMARKETS, HOWEVER, RECORDED DECREASES IN BOTH SALES VALUE AND VOLUME.
TABLE 1 PRESENTS THE REVISED TOTAL SALES FIGURE FOR JULY 1985 AND THE PROVISIONAL FIGURE FOR AUGUST 1985.
TABLE 2 SHOWS THE VALUE AND VOLUME INDEXES OF RETAIL SALES BY MAJOR TRADE GROUPS AND SELECTED TRADES (WHICH FORM PART OF THE RELEVANT MAJOR TRADE GROUPS), WITH AVERAGE MONTHLY RETAIL SALES IN 1980 TAKEN AS 100. COMPARISONS OF AUGUST 1985 RESULTS WITH THOSE OF JULY 1985 AND AUGUST 1984 AND COMPARISONS OF RETAIL SALES IN THREE-MONTH PERIOD JUNE - AUGUST 1985 WITH THOSE IN THE SAME PERIOD OF 1984 ARE ALSO GIVEN. GRAPHS 1 AND 2 DEPICT THE INDEX MOVEMENTS OF TOTAL RETAIL SALES FROM JANUARY 1983 TO JULY 1985.
THE REPORT CONTAINING THE ANALYSIS OF THE AUGUST 1985 SURVEY RESULTS IS NOW ON SALE AT THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATION CENTRE, GENERAL POST OFFICE, CONNAUGHT PLACE, AT $1 PER COPY.
ENQUIRIES ABOUT THE SURVEY RESULTS MAY BE DIRECTED TO THE WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE STATISTICS SECTION OF THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT (TEL. NO. : 3-7216024).
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