Retail sales in April 2012 rose 2.2% on-year and declined 0.9% on-month. Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales grew 0.8% on-year and 2.9% on-month.

According to the Retail Sales Index published by the Department of Statistics (DOS), the biggest on-year growth was seen for telecommunications apparatus and computers (+14.7%). Growth was moderate for retail sales activities such as:

• Medical goods and toiletries: +8.8%
• Furniture and household equipment: +4.4%
• Supermarkets: +4.4%

On-year growth for other sales activities ranged from 3.9% to 0.4%.

On-year sales declines were seen for:

• Optical goods and books: -6.8%
• Watches and jewellery: -2.3%
• Provision and sundry shops: -0.2%
• Department stores: -0.7%

DOS also announced that sales for Food and Beverage Services grew 5.5% on-year in March 2012 and contracted 1.9% on-month.