People wearing face masks walk past a Chow Tai Fook store on Russell Street in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, July 29, 2020. (WU XIAOCHU / XINHUA)
HONG KONG – Hong Kong's retail sales continued to increase in August thanks to the boost from the government's Consumption Voucher Scheme.
The value of total retail sales in August was provisionally estimated at HK$28.6 billion ($3.67 billion), up 11.9 percent from a year ago, the Census and Statistics Department said Thursday in a report.
A government spokesman attributed the continued growth in retail sales value in August to the Consumption Voucher Scheme while the city’s stable COVID-19 situation and improved labor market conditions also contributed
In the first eight months of 2021 taken together, it was provisionally estimated that the value of total retail sales increased by 8.1 percent compared with the same period in 2020.
A government spokesman attributed the continued growth in retail sales value in August to the CVS while the city’s stable COVID-19 situation and improved labor market conditions also contributed.
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The value of online retail sales in August, provisionally estimated at HK$2.1 billion, increased by 16.5 percent compared with the same month in 2020. The revised estimate of online retail sales in July 2021 increased by 28.8 percent compared with a year earlier.
Looking ahead, the spokesman said the CVS should continue to bode well for local consumption sentiment in the rest of the year.
Nevertheless, keeping the pandemic under control remains pivotal to a full-fledged recovery of the retail sector and the overall economy, the spokesman said.
It is essential for the community to strive towards more widespread vaccination, he added.
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