Singapore, Jan 5 (IANS): The Department of Statistics (DOS) of Singapore announced on Thursday that the country's retail sales grew by 6.2 per cent year on year in November 2022, following the about 10.3 per cent year-on-year increase recorded in the previous month.

Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales grew by 8.7 per cent in November, compared to the about 14.2 per cent growth in October 2022, reports Xinhua news agency.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, Singapore's retail sales declined by 3.7 per cent in November from the previous month.

The estimated total value of retail sales in November was about S$4 billion ($2 billion). Of these, online retail sales made up an estimated 14.8 per cent, compared to the 13 per cent recorded in October 2022.

The higher online retail sales proportion was mainly attributed to more sales recorded during the year-end online shopping events.

The DOS also reported that the sales of food and beverage services grew by 24.7 per cent year on year in November 2022, following the 36.9 per cent increase in the previous month.

The large growth in sales was attributed to the low base in November 2021, when there were restrictions on dining-in at food and beverage establishments.

On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, Singapore's sales of food and beverage services decreased by 0.1 per cent in November 2022, compared to the 1.2 per cent rise in October.

The sales value of food and beverage services was estimated at S$928 million in November 2022, of which the proportion of online sales was estimated at 23.3 per cent, lower than the 24 per cent recorded in the previous month.