South African retail sales rose 3.1% year on year in December after rising by a revised 7.6% in November, according to the latest figures from Statistics South Africa.
Source: Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
The largest positive contributors to this increase were:
- retailers in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods (7,8% and contributing 1,8 percentage points); and
- general dealers (2,0% and contributing 0,9 of a percentage point).
Seasonally adjusted retail trade sales decreased by 0,1% in December 2024 compared with November 2024.
This followed month-on-month changes of 1,0% in November 2024 and 1,7% in October 2024.
In 2024, retail trade sales increased by 2,5% compared with 2023. Five of the seven types of retailers showed positive year-on-year growth rates over this period.
The largest positive contributor was general dealers (4,6% and contributing 2,0 percentage points).
Retail trade sales increased by 5,4% in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared with the fourth quarter of 2023.
The largest contributors to this increase were:
- general dealers (7,8% and contributing 3,3 percentage points); and
- retailers in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods (7,7% and contributing 1,5 percentage points).
Seasonally adjusted retail trade sales increased by 2,1% in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared with the third quarter of 2024.
The largest contributors were:
- general dealers (2,9% and contributing 1,3 percentage points); and
- retailers in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods (4,5% and contributing 0,8 of a percentage point).
