The Department of Statistics (DOS) of Singapore said on Wednesday that Singapore's retail sales grew by 1.9 percent year-on-year in November 2021, compared to a 7.5-percent increase recorded in the previous month.

Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales rose 4.1 percent in November last year, compared to a 11.5-percent growth in October 2021.

The DOS said the higher year-on-year increase in October last year was partly attributed to the computer and telecommunications equipment industry, which recorded higher mobile phone sales due to new product launches.

The estimated total value of retail sales last November was about 3.7 billion Singapore dollars (about 2.73 billion U.S. dollars). Of these, online retail sales made up 16.9 percent, compared to 15.2 percent recorded in the previous month. The higher online retail sales proportion was mainly attributed to more sales recorded during the year-end online shopping events.

Retail sales in November 2021 remained below pre-pandemic levels, showed the DOS data.

The DOS also reported that the sales of food and beverage services increased by 0.6 percent year-on-year in November 2021, a reversal from a 4.5-percent decrease in the previous month. On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, Singapore's sales of food and beverage services grew by 10.4 percent in the month.

The sales value was estimated at 706 million Singapore dollars in November last year, of which the proportion of online sales hits an estimated 32.8 percent, lower than the 38.4 percent recorded the previous month.

Food and beverage sales value in November 2021 remained below pre-pandemic levels, the DOS added. (1 U.S. dollar equals 1.36 Singapore dollars)