Retailers, restaurants expected business to improve over summer

Macau’s business climate was mixed in June, as restaurants seemed to fare better but retailers reported revenue decline. According to the latest survey, both sectors anticipated a general business improvement in July, the Statistics and Census Service said.

The latest survey indicates that 39% of the interviewed restaurants reported a year-on- year rise in revenue in June, up by 7 percentage points from May.

On the other hand, 27% of the interviewed restaurants recorded a year-on-year decline in revenue in June, the same proportion as in May.

As for the retail trade, 38% of the interviewed retailers registered a year-on-year sales increase in June, a growth of 3 percentage points from the preceding month. By contrast, the proportion of interviewed retailers reporting a year-on- year decline in sales grew by 2 percentage points from May to 45%.

The Statistics and Census Service report added that the interviewed restaurants expected a slight improvement in their business in the summer holidays, with 73% of them anticipating a year-on-year rise in revenue or steady performance in July. The proportion of establishments foreseeing a year- on-year decline in receipts fell to 27%.

Retailers also expected their sales to stabilize in July, with 68% of them anticipating their sales to increase year-on-year or remain steady, a 4 percentage point rise from June. DB