Singapore Retail Sales Rose 1.7% in September: What Shop Owners Should Do About Regulars

By Alva Chew · Updated 2026-11-10

In short SingStat reported on 5 November 2026 that Singapore retail sales rose 1.7% year on year in September but fell 1.0% on August after seasonal adjustment. Growth came from phones and petrol, while mini-marts and department stores shrank. If you run an ordinary shop, the headline hides a flat month, so give your regulars a plain points reward for coming back.

What did SingStat publish about retail?

On 5 November 2026 the Singapore Department of Statistics released its Retail Sales Index and Food & Beverage Services Index for September 2026. Retail sales rose 1.7% year on year, “extending the 0.8% growth in August 2026”. Excluding motor vehicles, parts and accessories, they rose 2.5%.

Measure	Figure
Retail sales, year on year	+1.7% (August: +0.8%)
Retail sales excluding motor vehicles, year on year	+2.5% (August: +1.7%)
Retail sales, month on month, seasonally adjusted	-1.0%
Excluding motor vehicles, month on month, seasonally adjusted	-1.8%
Sales value	About S$4.3 billion
Online share of sales	17.7% (August: 15.6%)

Source: SingStat, September 2026 press release.

Which shops grew and which shrank?

SingStat attributes the strongest gains to “higher demand for mobile phones and higher petrol prices”. Several everyday shop types went the other way.

Retail segment	September 2026, year on year
Computer and telecommunications equipment	+16.5%
Petrol service stations	+6.5%
Cosmetics, toiletries and medical goods	+6.0%
Department stores	-3.4%
Mini-marts and convenience stores	-5.6%

Source: SingStat, September 2026 press release, overview text.

Price effects matter here. SingStat reports sales at current prices, so higher petrol prices lift petrol sales without more litres sold. The release does not say how much of any segment’s growth is price and how much is volume.

What happened month on month?

On a seasonally adjusted basis most industries recorded declines in September, according to SingStat. Cosmetics, toiletries and medical goods fell 10.5%, recreational goods 5.7% and optical goods and books 5.6%. Department stores grew 4.2% and motor vehicles, parts and accessories 3.5%.

Cosmetics shows why one month is a poor guide. The segment rose 6.0% on a year ago and fell 10.5% on August in the same SingStat release. If you sell in a segment like that, your own weekly numbers tell you more than the national headline.

How much of retail is online?

Online sales made up 17.7% of total retail in September, up from 15.6% in August (SingStat). The share varies widely by shop type. SingStat gives 63.2% for computer and telecommunications equipment, 39.4% for furniture and household equipment and 12.6% for supermarkets and hypermarkets.

For a neighbourhood shop selling everyday goods, most sales still happen at the counter. That is where a loyalty programme does its work.

What should a shop owner do with a mixed month?

Treat the 1.7% as a year on year comparison that sits on top of a weaker month. Three steps cost little:

Pull your own September and October sales and compare with last year, by week.
List how many customers visited more than once. These are the people a reward is for.
Pick one earn rate and one reward that a customer can explain in a sentence. Our guide to setting a points earn rate shows the arithmetic.

Our view is that a plain points reward beats a discount for this. A discount lowers your price for everyone, while points only cost you when someone comes back. The comparison is in loyalty program vs discounts, and the reasoning behind keeping the scheme simple is in the case for points-only loyalty.

If you run a convenience store, the 5.6% fall is the number to watch. If you run a fashion boutique, department store weakness is a reason to give shoppers a reason to prefer your door.

Where does Gimify fit?

Gimify is a points-only loyalty programme that runs on a customer’s Google Wallet card. Your first outlet is free with unlimited members, and staff add or redeem points on any phone at the counter. You can start at app.gimify.com without new hardware.

Questions owners ask

How did Singapore retail sales do in September 2026?

Retail sales rose 1.7% year on year, extending 0.8% growth in August, according to SingStat. After seasonal adjustment they fell 1.0% on the previous month. Total sales were about S$4.3 billion.

Which retail segments grew in September 2026?

Computer and telecommunications equipment rose 16.5%, petrol service stations 6.5% and cosmetics, toiletries and medical goods 6.0% year on year. SingStat links the first two to mobile phone demand and higher petrol prices.

Which retail segments fell?

Mini-marts and convenience stores fell 5.6% and department stores fell 3.4% year on year in September 2026.

How much of Singapore retail is online?

SingStat estimates 17.7% of September 2026 retail sales were online, up from 15.6% in August. Excluding motor vehicles the share was 20.8%. For supermarkets and hypermarkets it was 12.6%.

Does a rise in retail sales mean I can stop worrying about repeat customers?

No. The headline is a year on year comparison and the monthly seasonally adjusted figure fell. A simple points reward still gives existing customers a reason to come back.