Retail sales in Singapore declined by 0.4% year-on-year in January 2026, reversing a downwardly revised 2.5% increase in December and marking the weakest performance since February 2025. The fall was broad-based, with department stores (-12.3% vs -3% in December), petrol service stations (-9.7% vs -9.1%), wearing apparel and footwear (-12.9% vs -2.1%), and the “others” category (-14.9% vs -10.2%) among the worst affected.
Sales also contracted in supermarkets and hypermarkets (-9.7% vs +3.7% previously), mini-marts and convenience stores (-2.7% vs +6.7%), and cosmetics, toiletries, and medical goods (-0.4% vs +0.2%), all reversing gains recorded in the prior month. Meanwhile, growth in sales of computer and telecommunications equipment slowed to 14.1% from 18.8%.
On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, however, retail sales rose 6.1% in January, rebounding from a revised 2.7% drop in December and reaching their highest level since March 2022.
