The Retail Sales Index RSI in Brunei Darussalam continued to show a year-on-year increase in the first quarter Q-ONE 2021 at 11.9% with an estimated retail sales value of 454 point 4 million. Meanwhile the Food & Beverages Services Index F & BSI, it has also increased by 11.6% compared to Q-ONE 2020 with an estimated sales revenue of 94.7 million.
For retail sales, all retail activities have shown an increase in sales driven mainly by the sales of Watches and Jewellery which increased by 62.2%, followed by sales of Textiles, Wearing Apparel and Footwear by 52.0%; sales of Hardware, Paints and Glass in specialized stores 24.7%; sales of Electrical Household Appliances and Lighting Equipment in specialized stores 22.6%; and sales in Department Store at 12.6%.
Food & Beverages Services, the increase in sales was attributed to the increase in sales revenue of Beverage Serving Activities 35.1%, followed by Restaurants 12.5% and Fast-food Outlets at 11.9%. The increase in retail sales and sales of food and beverages services was in line with the increase in domestic demand for certain goods and services due to travel restrictions abroad.
However compared to the fourth quarter Q-4 2020, the Retail Sales Index in Q-ONE 2021 has recorded a decline of 0.3% mainly due to decrease in sales of Computer and Telecommunication Equipment by 21.0%, followed by sales of Recreational Goods by 10.7%; Furniture and Household Equipment 8.7%; Electrical Household Appliances and Lighting Equipment in specialized stores 8.0%; and Supermarket 2.6%.
As for the Food & Beverages Services Index recorded a decrease of 1.6% in Q-ONE 2021 compared to Q-FOUR 2020 mainly due to the decrease in sales revenue of Restaurants by 2.6%, followed by Beverage Serving Activities by 2.1% and Fast-food Outlets by 0.3%.
RSI and F & BSI are preliminary indicators of economic performance for both activities and outlook for consumer spending trends in Brunei Darussalam on a quarterly basis. Full reports of both activities are available from DEPS website at www.deps.gov.bn.
Source: Radio Television Brunei