Buoyant business: The sales volume of electrical goods and photographic equipment rose the most in March, by 18.8%.

The value of total retail sales in March rose 5% on a year earlier, to $18.9 billion, the Census & Statistics Department says. For this year's first quarter, total retail sales increased 9.4% in value or 6.6% in volume over the same period last year.

After netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, the volume of total retail sales saw a 3.5% year-on-year rise in March.

The growth slowed in March after several months of notable growth, partly due to the fall-off in supermarket sales, as well as in sales of motor vehicles which are volatile from month to month. Yet sales of clothing and footwear, electrical appliances and department stores' sales held up very well, a reflection of consumers' willingness to spend in tandem with the economic upturn.

The volatility in the stock market that began at the end of February and extended into most of March, and the slow-down in inbound tourism led to lower spending on luxurious items like jewellery and watches.

Detailed analysis

Analysed by type of retail outlet, the sales volume of electrical goods and photographic equipment rose the most, by 18.8%. This was followed by wearing apparel (up 9.1%); commodities in department stores (7.7%); footwear, allied products and other clothing accessories (7.6%); miscellaneous consumer goods (4.4%); fuels (1.9%); and furniture and fixtures (0.5%).

On the other hand, the sales volume of miscellaneous consumer durable goods and motor vehicles and parts fell 9.2% and 3.6%. The sales volume of commodities in supermarkets fell 2.7%, while that of jewellery, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts fell 1.7%. The sales volume of food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco remained virtually unchanged.

Picking up further

For this year's first quarter, total retail sales increased 9.4% in value, or 6.6% in volume, over the same period a year earlier. Based on the seasonally adjusted series, the volume of total retail sales went up 1.9% in this year's first quarter compared with the preceding quarter.

For the first quarter as a whole, retail sales picked up, as can be seen from the slightly faster year-on-year growth in the first quarter than last year's fourth quarter, and also from the continued growth on a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter basis.

Looking forward, rising household income, an improved job market and sustained low interest rates should continue offer support to retail businesses.