Source: Statistics and Census Service

Friday 18th May, 2018

Business Climate Survey on Restaurants & Similar Establishments and Retail Trade for March 2018

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that 59% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments reported a year-on-year rise in receipts in March, up by 10 percentage points from February. The corresponding proportion of Chinese Restaurants reached 82%, the highest proportion recorded since the survey began, and the share of Japanese & Korean Restaurants surged by 53 percentage points to 73%. Meanwhile, the share of interviewed establishments recording a year-on-year decline in receipts decreased by 16 percentage points over February to 19%. The corresponding proportion of Japanese & Korean Restaurants (13%) dropped by 33 percentage points. 

As regards retail trade, 70% of the interviewed retailers reported a year-on-year sales increase in March, down by 14 percentage points from February. The corresponding proportion of Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers (67%) decreased by 33 percentage points, while that of Department Stores (89%) rose by 11 percentage points. On the other hand, 15% of the interviewed retailers registered a year-on-year sales decline, up by 8 percentage points from February. 

The interviewed restaurants & similar establishments expected their business to weaken slightly in April, with 17% of them expecting a year-on-year growth in receipts, down by 6 percentage points from March. Among the interviewed establishments, 30% of the Chinese Restaurants predicted their receipts to increase year-on-year in April, down by 14 percentage points from March. Besides, 57% of the interviewed establishments anticipated their receipts to remain stable as in April 2017. 

Retailers were cautious about their business prospects in April. The proportion of interviewed retailers anticipating a year-on-year sales increase in April went up by 2 percentage points from March to 37%. Among the various types of interviewed retailers, 33% of the Motor Vehicle Retailers and 80% of the Leather Goods Retailers predicted a year-on-year sales rise in April, up by 22 and 20 percentage points respectively from March. Meanwhile, 21% of the interviewed retailers expected a year-on-year decline in sales. 

The sample of the Business Climate Survey on Restaurants & Similar Establishments and Retail Trade was selected based on the value of receipts of the establishments, comprising 167 restaurants & similar establishments (accounting for 53% of the industry’s receipts) and 135 retailers (accounting for 70% of the industry’s receipts). The Survey results were not extrapolated and only reflect the assessment of the business performance and expectations of the sample restaurants and retailers.