Retail sales in Hong Kong rose by 3.4% year-on-year in January 2026, slowing from a 5.1% increase in the previous month. This marked the softest growth since August, mainly driven by declines in sales for food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco (-10.8% vs -0.4% in December), supermarkets (-5.7% vs 0.6%), fuels (-25% vs -21.9%), and department stores (-9.9% vs -4.8%). Additionally, turnover increased at a slower pace for other consumer goods (2.4% vs 5.3%). Sales growth for consumer durable goods also eased but remained elevated (34.3% vs 39.6%). In contrast, activity accelerated for clothing, footwear and allied products (5.3% vs -8.4%) and jewellery, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts (10.8% vs 1.2%). On a monthly basis, retail sales advanced by 6.5% in January, following a 3.8% gain in the preceding period.