Retail business improved in October, with the overall volume of retail sales rising 4.6% over a year earlier - the largest increase since January.

The growth was also notably faster than the 1% growth recorded in September.

The improvement was widespread across most of the retail outlet types. This may be owing to the continued notable growth in visitors, particularly those from the Mainland

Better sentiment and improved employment conditions may also lead to a further pick-up in local consumer spending.

Total retail sales at $14.6 billion

Announcing the statistics today, the Census & Statistics Department said the value of total retail sales in October was provisionally estimated at $14.6 billion, an increase of 3.8% compared with the same period last year.

However, taking the first 10 months of this year together, retail sales declined by 3.9% in value, or 1.8% in volume, as compared to a year earlier.

Electrical goods saw largest increase

In terms of type of retail outlets, sales of electrical goods and photographic equipment increased the most, by 32.2% in volume.

On the other hand, sales of motor vehicles and parts and of fuels dropped by 25.8% and 2.8% respectively in volume in October compared with a year earlier.

Based on the seasonally adjusted series, the overall volume of retail sales increased by 6.3% in the three months ending October as compared to the preceding three-month period