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Retail sales growth slows amid Omicron wave, supply issues
The retail sales index grew by an estimated 14.47 percent year-on-year (yoy) in February, but the latest reading marks the first slowdown since the index started recovering from the Delta wave in October.
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Customers browse for clothes at a shop in Jakarta on June 9, 2020.
(AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
R
etail sales in Indonesia showed signs of slowing down in February as the country faced the Omicron wave of COVID-19 and supply chains were disrupted.
The retail sales index (RSI) measured monthly by Bank Indonesia (BI) through a survey of around 700 retailers was estimated to have grown 14.47 percent year-on-year (yoy) to 202.8 points in February, BI data show. That was slower than the 15.16 percent annual growth seen in January.
While the index tends to rise during the peak spending season, the latest reading marks the first slowdown since October, when retail sales started recovering after the Delta wave hit the country in July and August and prompted large-scale activity restrictions.
“Sales declined [against the preceding month] in the majority of categories, such as cultural and recreational goods, spare parts and accessories, as well as fuels, in line with the fall in demand, limited supplies and unfavorable weather conditions,” BI spokesman Erwin Haryono was quoted in a press release as saying on Thursday.
The slowdown in the retail sales index took place amid the Omicron wave, which prompted the government to tighten mobility restrictions in mid-February in a bid to prevent a further increase in cases.
The consumer confidence index, published a day earlier, pointed in the same direction as it dropped to a reading of 113.13 in February from 119.6 in January, BI data show. The current economic condition subindex fell to 95.46, returning to pessimistic territory below the 100-point threshold.
Read also: Consumer confidence gives back some recent gains
