In 2023, Macau's retail industry recovered, with annual retail sales increasing by 49.5% year-on-year.

On February 27, data from the Statistics and Census Service of Macao showed that the retail industry in Macao recovered in 2023, with annual retail sales increasing by 49.5% year-on-year to 86.25 billion yuan (Macao currency)., up 11.7% from 2019. Compared to 2022, benefiting from an increase in visitors to Macao, the annual sales of Chinese food snacks increased by 3.4 times, while sales of watches and jewelry, leather goods, general merchandise, and adult clothing increased by 79.5%, 74.2%, 68.9%, and 61.6% respectively, and communication equipment fell by 18.6%. The average index of sales volume for the whole year, adjusted for price factors, increased by 45.9% year-on-year, with the most significant increases seen in Chinese food snacks (+3.2 times), watches and jewelry (+73.9%), leather goods (+69.6%), general merchandise (+64.3%), and adult clothing (+53.7%), while communication devices (-16.0%) recorded a decrease. Quarterly analysis shows that in the fourth quarter of 2023, sales increased by 38.9% year-on-year to 20.55 billion yuan, compared to a 1.0% decrease in the same quarter of 2019. Chinese food snacks saw a significant increase of 3.1 times year-on-year, while the sales of watches and jewelry, general merchandise, leather goods, and adult clothing increased by 65.5%, 60.6%, 59.9%, and 51.0% respectively, with communication equipment (-11.3%) seeing a decrease. The sales volume index increased by 33.2% year-on-year, with significant increases seen in Chinese food snacks (+3.0 times), watches and jewelry (+56.5%), general merchandise (+54.3%), and leather goods (+50.1%), while communication devices (-9.0%) recorded a decrease. Compared to the revised retail sales in the third quarter of 2023 (20.21 billion yuan), the sales in the fourth quarter increased by 1.7%. The sales of communication equipment were significantly boosted by the introduction of new mobile phones, increasing by 60.6% quarterly, while adult clothing and cars saw increases of 16.6% and 11.1% respectively. Chinese food snacks and car fuel, on the other hand, saw decreases of 10.9% and 7.6% respectively. The sales volume index increased by 1.3% quarterly, with communication equipment and cars seeing increases of 61.0% and 11.9% respectively, while Chinese food snacks and car fuel saw decreases of 12.2% and 10.2% quarterly. According to a survey of retail merchants, 45.5% of them expect the sales volume of goods in the first quarter of 2024 to be similar to that of the same quarter in 2023, 44.3% believe it will decrease year-on-year, and 10.2% anticipate an increase. Meanwhile, 76.7% of merchants predict that sales prices in the first quarter will remain at the same level as in the same period in 2023, with 14.2% expecting an increase and 9.1% expecting a decrease. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, about 60.4% of merchants predict that the business situation in the first quarter of 2024 will weaken, 28.8% believe it will remain stable, and 10.8% are optimistic about it.