Can strong growth in the retail sector last?

Members of the public doing their activities do shopping at shopping Mall in Sunway Mall-SHAARI CHEMAT /The Star

THE retail sector, with sales growth expected at 13.1% this year after falling 2.3% in 2021, is expected to stay buoyant for the time being, amidst risks of high inflation, interest rate hikes and possible global recession.

With Malaysia’s broad subsidisation policy keeping inflation down, retail sales are surging partly on a low-base effect as many purchases were deferred in the last two years and many businesses were disrupted by the Covid-19 lockdowns.