In the third quarter (Q3) of 2021, the Retail Sales Index (RSI) performance in Brunei Darussalam showed a year-on-year decrease of 5.2 per cent with an estimated retail sales value of BND386.8 million. As for the Food & Beverages Services Index (F&BSI), it has also decreased by 12.3 per cent compared to Q3 2020 with an estimated sales revenue of BND74.1 million.
For retail sales, almost all retail activities have shown a decrease in sales driven mainly by the sales of petrol in filling stations which decreased by 20.9 per cent, followed by sales of furniture and household equipment which decreased by 19.5 per cent; sales of textiles, wearing apparel and footwear (18.1 per cent); and sales in department store (2.5 per cent).
As for food and beverage services, the decrease in sales was attributed to the decrease in sales revenue of beverage serving activities (24.9 per cent), followed by restaurants (17.4 per cent) and fast-food outlets (2.2 per cent). This was in line with lower sales activity following the new local cases of COVID-19 detected in the country on August 7. This decline was also in line with the reinstatement of control measures such as not allowing dine-in for restaurants and other food premises including stalls.
Compared to the second quarter (Q2) of 2021, the RSI in Q3 2021 has recorded a decrease of 17.1 per cent mainly due to a decrease in sales of textiles, wearing apparel and footwear by 60.5 per cent, followed by sales of furniture and household equipment by 41.3 per cent; sales of electrical household appliances and lighting equipment in specialised stores (19.9 per cent); sales in petrol station (19.3 per cent); and sales in department store (17.7 per cent).
As for the F&BSI, it has recorded a decrease of 19.1 per cent in Q3 2021 compared to Q2 2021 mainly due to the decrease in sales revenue of restaurants by 22.4 per cent, followed by fast-food outlets by 15.4 per cent and beverage serving activities by 4.9 per cent.
