Retailers anticipate further sales downturn as revenue slightly plunges in Q1

Local retailers are anticipating a year-on-year decrease in sales volume in the second quarter of 2022.

According to a survey conducted by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), 65.8% are expecting sales to decrease, while 31.9% expected the sales volume to stay stable, and only 2.3% forecasted an increase.

This comes after the value of retail sales for the first quarter of 2022 totalled MOP18.65 billion, down slightly by 0.6% year-on-year. 

After removing the effect of price changes, the sales volume index rose by 1.9% year-on-year.

71.0% of the retailers, meanwhile, predicted that the retail prices would remain steady year-on-year in the second quarter, while 17.2% foresaw a decrease and 11.8% expected an increase. 

When considering comparison of performance against the first quarter of 2022, about 59.0% of the retailers envisaged sluggish business in the second quarter, whereas retailers expecting stable performance (22.9%) and those anticipating a favourable outlook (18.1%) together accounted for 41.0% of the total.

Among the major retail trade activities, the sales value of Motor Vehicles (-25.3%) dropped significantly year-on-year, while sales values of Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles (-15.6%) and Adults’ Clothing (-10.9%) also recorded decreases. 

On the other hand, sales values of Communication Equipment (+9.9%) and Leather Goods (+8.4%) increased. 

The value of retail sales in the first quarter of 2022 edged up by 0.1% as compared with the revised figure (MOP18.64 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2021. 

As previously reported, the total expenditure by visitors (excluding gaming expenses) rose by 6.7% year-on-year to MOP6.59 billion in the first quarter of 2022, despite the consecutive downturn in visitor arrivals from January to March.

Despite the casino sector being on the brink of revenue downturn, Macau’s total expenditure by same-day visitors (MOP1.26 billion) leapt by 114.5% year-on-year, while that of overnight visitors (MOP5.33 billion) dropped by 4.7%. 

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which benefited from government support measures, have also been undergoing a crisis, as 261 have already closed their doors due to bankruptcy. 

Some 181 companies from a total of 8,354 entities that benefited from the SME Aid Scheme, one of the most popular support programs, have already gone bankrupt.