SINGAPORE, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's retail sales decreased by 1 percent year-on-year in March, compared to a 9.9 percent decrease in February, the Department of Statistics of Singapore said on Friday.
The retail sales increased by 1 percent month-on-month on a seasonally adjusted basis in March, compared to a 1.4 percent decrease in the previous month.
The authority said excluding motor vehicles, the retail sales in March fell by 1.5 percent year-on-year, and remain at the same level of February.
According to the authority, most retail industries recorded lower sales in March on a year-on-year basis. Sales of the optical goods and books decreased by 6.4 percent year-on-year, due partly to lower sales of optical goods. On the other hand, sales of the medical goods and toiletries industry rose 2.8 percent year-on-year, due partly to higher demand of cosmetics and toiletries.
Singapore's total retail sales value in March was estimated at 3.8 billion Singapore dollars (about 2.79 billion U.S. dollars). The estimated proportion of online retail sales to total retail sales was 5.3 percent.