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· Annual retail sales in South Africa for June declined by 7.5%, according to the official data released by Stats SA. The continued contraction in June was on expected lines
· The decline in retail sales was largely contributed by “other retailers” classification, which include those who sell stationery and reading material, jewellery, watches and clocks, sports goods and entertainment as well as second-hand goods, and repairs, and other trade not in stores
Annual retail sales in South Africa for June declined by 7.5%, according to the official data released by Stats SA. The continued contraction in June was on expected lines.
Analysts revealed that consumers continued to hold off on discretionary related purchases amid low consumer confidence levels and weak income growth. What that has put the analysts in quandary was that the business confidence is still low despite most of the industries working normally after lifting lockdown significantly at level three stage.
The decline in retail sales was largely contributed by “other retailers” classification, which include those who sell stationery and reading material, jewellery, watches and clocks, sports goods and entertainment as well as second-hand goods, and repairs, and other trade not in stores.
“Other retailers” sales were down 46.3% from June 2019. Textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods retailers saw sales decline by 7.6%. Those categories contributed to June’s overall decline in sales. Sales of food, beverages and tobacco in specialized stores suffered the second largest decline by as much as 11%. However, sales have rebounded from April’s record down of 49.9% when lockdown was still at level 5. May’s sales had declined by 11.5%. The decline in sales for the second quarter of the year is down 22.8%, compared to the same quarter last year.
