The nation’s retail sales rose 8.2 percent year-on-year to NT$334 billion (US$11.39 billion) last month, while food and beverage sector sales increased 2 percent to NT$73.6 billion, Ministry of Economic Affairs data released on Wednesday showed.
Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General Huang Wei-jie (黃偉傑) described the results as “surprisingly strong.”
Notably, auto sales rose 33.5 percent, which Huang attributed in part to the seventh month of the lunar calendar, known as “Ghost Month,” falling in August versus this year, when it started late last month and ended on Wednesday last week.
Convenience store sales grew 15.6 percent, while e-commerce and mail order sales increased 16.4 percent.
Restaurant sales were up 4.7 percent, but catering and banquet sales dropped by 40 percent, ministry data showed.
“Until we lift border controls, the banquet trade is not going to return to normalcy,” Huang told a news conference.
The strong retail and food and beverage sales last month also reflected the effect of the government’s Triple Stimulus Voucher program, which commenced on July 15, Huang said.
Taiwanese who participated in the program received NT$3,000 in vouchers which must be spent before the end of the year.
The inability to travel overseas could be a reason why retail sales were so high, Huang said.
“People who could not go abroad to shop might have spent the money at home,” he said.
Other factors might be at play, National Central University economics professor Dachrahn Wu (吳大任) said.
“While it is true that people are still using up their vouchers, what is probably more significant is the gains made by the stock market and the housing market in recent months,” Wu said. “Domestic demand is back.”
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