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The city-state’s total retail sales had expanded by 4% year-on-year in June and by between 3% and 8.6% in the other months except January, when they fell by 0.1%, according to data released by the Singapore Department of Statistics on Monday.

July’s growth fell short of the 3.1% median estimate from private-sector economists surveyed by Bloomberg. On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, retail sales climbed 0.9% during the month.

Excluding motor vehicles and parts and accessories, retail sales also rose 1.5% from a year earlier and 0.7% from the previous month.

Total retail sales were estimated at S$4.4 billion (US$3.47 billion) in July, of which 15.4% came from online transactions. That share was lower than the 16.4% recorded in June.

Recreational goods was the best-performing retail category in July, with sales up 13.9% from a year earlier. Watches and jewelry followed with 11.1%, marking the third straight month of double-digit growth. Sales of computers and telecommunications equipment also increased, rising 5.1% year-on-year.

Other categories that saw year-on-year increases included cosmetics, toiletries and medical goods (4.5%); wearing apparel and footwear (2.3%); and furniture and household equipment (1.3%).

On the other hand, food and alcohol sales posted a year-on-year decline of 5.1% while department store sales were down 3.5%.

Mini-marts and convenience stores saw sales fall 1.5%, while supermarkets and hypermarkets slid 2.1%, petrol service stations 1.1%, optical goods and books 2.2%, and other 4%.

Nonetheless, the slower year-on-year growth might not necessarily point to a broad-based pullback in spending in Singapore, the world’s second richest country by GDP per capita in 2025 after Switzerland as ranked by The Economist.

Ethan Hsu, founder and chief executive of retail real estate advisory firm Catbird, told The Straits Times that the month-on-month increase “suggests that spending momentum has not stalled, but the composition of spending is becoming more uneven.”

Josh Gilbert, lead analyst for Asia-Pacific at financial trading platform eToro, said the strong growth in recreational goods, watches and jewelry sales suggests Singaporeans are still willing to spend on discretionary items.

The declines in categories such as supermarkets, mini-marts and food and alcohol may also reflect a high base from July last year, when SG60 vouchers were distributed, he noted.

“It’s a fascinating snapshot of how households are coping with higher living costs. Months of elevated prices at the pump and the checkout have made people more careful with routine spending, but that caution hasn’t dented the appetite for a big-ticket purchase,” Gilbert said, as quoted by Inside Retail.

“Singaporeans are still spending; they’ve just decided that if the money’s going out the door, it had better be on something memorable. Right now, this is a market where retailers serving the masses are struggling, while those attracting the wealthy thrive.”

Meanwhile, sales of F&B services dropped 1.9% year-on-year to an estimated S$1.6 billion in July, following a 2.3% year-on-year fall in the previous month. Nonetheless, F&B services sales grew 0.6% on a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis.

People buy food for lunch at a hawkers centre in Singapore on Jan. 7, 2025. Photo by Reuters

Food courts and other eating places, as well as cafes, saw the biggest year-on-year declines of 6.6% and 6.4% respectively. Fast food outlets and food caterers, however, reported increases of 4.6% and 0.3%.

The city-state’s F&B sector has seen a spate of closures this year ranging from heritage hawker stalls to popular restaurants and cafes.

Data from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority shows that 2,101 F&B businesses shuttered between January and July this year, up 25.1% from a year ago and among the highest figures across sectors.

Still, openings outpaced closures, with 2,594 new F&B business registrations recorded during the same period.