Singapore - Retail Sales

Retail sales index for Singapore; detailed by SSIC; in value, volume, SA and NSA forms. Monthly from 1985 or 1993.

Active:

• Industrial classification: SSIC 2015
• Measurements:
  • Fixed-base chained volume index relative to 2017 (Index Ch. Vol. 2017=100)
  • Fixed-base current-price index (Index 2017=100)
• Adjustments:
  • Seasonally adjusted (SA)
  • Not seasonally adjusted (NSA)
• Native frequency: Monthly
• Start date: 1985m1

Predecessors:

• 2017=100 at constant prices - 1985 to 2019
• 2014=100 - 1985 to 2017
• 2010=100, SSIC 2010 - 1985 to 2014
• 2005=100, SSIC 2005 -1985 to 2010

The source writes:

The Retail Sales Index (RSI) and Food & Beverage Services Index (FSI) measure the short-term performance of retail and food & beverage (F&B) services industries based on the sales records of retail and F&B services establishments. Sales figure refers to the value of retail goods or food & beverages sold to consumers during the month, excluding taxes on products such as Goods and Services Tax (GST), Additional Registration Fee (ARF) and Certificates of Entitlement (COE). The RSI and FSI are presented at both current prices and constant prices. The indices at current prices measure the changes of sales values which can result from changes in both price and quantity. By removing the price effect, the indices at constant prices measure the changes in the volume of economic activity.

Data collection

Data for the compilation of the indices are primarily obtained from the results of the monthly surveys of retail and F&B services establishments respectively. Retail establishments refer to those selling merchandise directly to the consumers. F&B services establishments are those selling prepared food and drinks for in-premises consumption or on a take-away basis.

Index compilation

To derive the RSI/FSI at detailed industry level, the monthly sales for that industry is divided by the average monthly sales for the same industry in the base year. The overall RSI/FSI is then computed by combining the sales indices of the detailed industries, using the weights to measure each industry’s relative importance in the overall retail/F&B services industry. To derive the indices at constant prices, the sales indices at current prices at detailed industry level are first deflated by appropriate price indices. These component indices at constant prices are then weighted and aggregated to derive the overall indices at constant prices.

Seasonal adjustment

Seasonal effects are observed in both the RSI and FSI as there are usually intra-year periodic variations that repeat during the fixed period of time every year. To better reflect the underlying trend of the monthly sales, both indices are seasonally adjusted to remove the seasonal effects.

Data is subject to revisions.

As of January 2020, constant-price data has been replaced with chained prices.

As of January 2018, the dataset was rebased from 2014 to 2017.

As of January 2015, the dataset was rebased from 2010 to 2014. 

As of 14 March 2010, the following changes were imposed by the source:

• Rebased from 2010 from 2005.
• Reclassified to reflect changes in industry structure, to SSIC 2010 from SSIC 2005.
• Coverage and weights have been reviewed and updated.