01.04.202609:06:04UTC+00Hong Kong Retail Sales Growth at 2023-Highs

Retail sales in Hong Kong jumped 17.5% year-on-year in February 2026, up sharply from a revised 3.5% increase in January. This was the strongest growth since April 2023, reflecting heightened volatility in consumer spending around the Chinese New Year holiday.

By category, sales rose for:

• Food, alcoholic beverages and tobacco: +17.6% (vs. -11.3% in January)
• Supermarkets: +14.2% (vs. -5.7%)
• Clothing, footwear and related products: +18.9% (vs. +4.1%)
• Department stores: +31.8% (vs. -9.9%)

In contrast, fuel sales fell 18.3%, though this was a smaller drop than January’s 25% decline. Growth also eased in some discretionary segments: consumer durable goods rose 24.1% (down from 37%), while jewellery, watches, clocks and valuable gifts increased 4.4% (down from 10.8%).

Over the first two months of 2026, retail sales were up 9.5% compared with the same period a year earlier. On a seasonally shorter horizon, sales fell 6% month-on-month in February, reversing a 6.5% gain in January.