Hong Kong's retail sales grew at the slowest rate in 14 months in January, according to official figures released on Friday.

Data from the Census and Statistics Department showed that retail sales picked up by 0.9 percent to HK$36.5 billion compared with the same period last year.

This was down considerably from the 7.8 percent rise in December and the 15.9 percent surge in November.

Sales of clothing, medicines, cosmetics and luxury goods such as jewellery continued to performed strongly, with increases of more than 25 percent.

Electrical and other consumer durable goods was the hardest-hit category, with sales falling by more than a quarter.

In a statement, a government spokesperson attributed the slowdown to the timing of the Lunar New Year holiday.

"Local consumer spending normally attains a seasonal high before the festival. As the Lunar New Year fell on February 10 this year but on January 22 last year, the year-on-year comparison of the figures for January 2024 with those for January 2023 might have been affected by this factor to a certain extent," the spokesperson explained

Looking ahead, the government said an expected increase in visitor numbers and the hosting of the so-called "mega events" would provide support to the retail sector.

However, executive director of the Hong Kong Retail Management Association, Bond Law, said he expected sales to decline in the first half of this year.

"We expect retail sales to experience a single-digit or even low double-digit decline in the first half of the year," he said.

"There are a number of factors affecting the industry, such as the increasing trend of Hong Kong people travelling to the mainland, a strong Hong Kong dollar and weak renminbi, and a drop in local spending due to the weak economy."
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Last updated: 2024-03-01 HKT 18:10