Macau’s retail sales in the first quarter rose by 68 percent to 18.7 billion patacas year-on-year, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) announced yesterday.
The sales of communication equipment (+182 percent), leather goods (+150 percent), and watches and jewellery (+123 percent) recorded notable year-on-year increases, while supermarket sales dropped by nearly 18 percent.
Quarter-on-quarter, retail sales rose by only 3.1 percent in the first three months of this year.
According a statement by the bureau, 45.7 percent of the city’s retailers expect “sluggish business” in the current quarter, while 36.7 percent expect a “stable performance” and 17.6 percent have a “favourable outlook”.
Macau recorded its first COVID-19 case on January 22 last year.
