What: Singapore's retail sales rose 1.6% year on year in August, led by cosmetics (up 11.2%) and computer and telecommunications equipment (up 10.7%), while watches and jewellery fell 2.7% and food and beverage services declined 1.6%.

Why it is important: Department stores returned to modest growth of 0.7–1.6% after a sixth decline in seven months, according to earlier IADS coverage. The article groups them with other categories, so the gain may be small, and it follows Metro's decision to close two stores.

Singapore's retail sales rose 1.6% year on year in August, excluding motor vehicles, parts and accessories, compared with a revised 1.3% growth in July, according to the Department of Statistics. On a seasonally adjusted basis, sales increased 0.6% from July. Total retail sales value was estimated at SG$3.8 billion (US$2.96 billion), of which 18.2% came from online.

Most categories grew year on year, led by cosmetics, toiletries and medical goods (up 11.2%) and computer and telecommunications equipment (up 10.7%), partly driven by higher sales of cosmetics, toiletries and mobile phones. Recreational goods rose 4.3% and petrol service stations 3.2%. Furniture, apparel, supermarkets and department stores posted improvements of 0.7–1.6%.

Watches and jewellery declined 2.7%, reversing an 11% boost in July. Food and alcohol sales dropped 1.1%. Sales of food and beverage services fell 1.6%, extending a 1.9% decline in July. Beauty and electronics therefore led growth, while jewellery, food and alcohol, and food and beverage services all declined.

IADS Notes: August's figures extend a pattern in which discretionary categories lead Singapore's retail growth while department stores and dining lag. Inside Retail Asia, September 2026 reported that July sales rose 1.5% year on year, with recreational goods and watches and jewellery posting a third consecutive month of double-digit growth and department stores recording a sixth decline in seven months. Inside Retail, August 2026 showed the same split in June, when watches and jewellery grew 10.5%, cosmetics and computer and telecommunications also rose, department stores fell 9.5% and F&B services declined 2.3%. August's 2.7% fall in watches and jewellery therefore ends a run of double-digit months, while cosmetics, up 11.2%, had already risen in June and F&B services extended their decline. Department stores are the line where the August data differ most, grouped with furniture, apparel and supermarkets at gains of 0.7–1.6%. This follows Inside Retail, July 2026, which reported that Metro would close its Paragon and Causeway Point stores in favour of smaller multi-concept formats after a US$8.8 million net loss. Channel News Asia, December 2025 had already documented the divide between resilient owner-operators with prime Orchard Road positions, such as Tangs and Takashimaya, and rent-paying tenants such as Isetan, BHG and Metro, which frames how any improvement in the segment should be read. In beauty, Shinsegae, which has worked with Metro in Singapore, is competing in the U.S. on early discovery and curation rather than scale, according to WWD, September 2026.

Singapore retail sales rise in August on higher cosmetics, phone purchases