Check out Hong Kong's jump in retail sales value

It's an estimated $34.1 billion.

According to a government release, total retail sales value in September, provisionally estimated at $34.1 billion, rose 9.4% over a year earlier, the Census & Statistics Department announced today.

After netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, total retail sales volume increased 8.5%.

The revised estimate of total retail sales value in August, at $35.8 billion, rose 4.6% over a year earlier, while total retail sales volume increased 3.2%.

For the first nine months of the year, total retail sales rose 10.6% in value and 7.4% in volume year on year.

Analysed by broad type of retail outlet and comparing September 2012 with September 2011, the sales volume of miscellaneous consumer durable goods increased the most, by 69.5%.

This was followed by sales of food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco (+18.1% in volume); electrical goods and photographic equipment (+13.6%); commodities in department stores (+10.3%); miscellaneous consumer goods (+8.5%); footwear, allied products and other clothing accessories (+8.4%); commodities in supermarkets (+5.6%); fuels (+3.4%); jewellery, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts (+3.1%); and wearing apparel (+2.4%).

The sales volume of motor vehicles and parts fell 4.4%, while that of furniture and fixtures fell 2.9%.

Based on the seasonally adjusted series, total retail sales volume increased less than 0.05% in the third quarter compared with the second.

Retail sales volume showed faster growth in September, helped by festive spending at the Mid-Autumn Festival, which occurred later in the month this year compared with last, and to a lesser extent by the launch of new consumer electronic products.

While vibrant inbound tourism should continue to support the retail business, the increased pressure on the labour market amid more cautious hiring sentiments, combined with an uncertain external environment, may have a dampening effect on local consumer sentiment, the department noted.