Hong Kong’s retail sales increased 2.3% year-on-year in July 2026, matching June’s pace and marking the weakest annual growth since July 2025. The expansion softened in several key categories: sales of food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco grew 1.2%, down from 1.9% in June, while consumer durable goods rose 2.4%, slowing sharply from 6.3%. Sales of clothing, footwear and allied products declined 2.1%, reversing from a marginal 0.2% increase in the previous month.
By contrast, some segments showed stronger momentum. Sales of jewellery, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts advanced 9.4%, up from 7.4% in June, and “other consumer goods” increased 5.5%, compared with 4.3% previously. Contractions moderated in supermarkets, where sales slipped just 0.1% versus a 0.8% fall in June, and in fuels, where sales were down 27.9% after a 28.3% drop. Department store sales also returned to growth, rising 0.6% after a 4.4% decline in the prior month.
On a month-on-month basis, retail sales fell 0.9% in July, but this represented a notable improvement from the 6.8% contraction recorded in June.
