Retail sales in South Africa grew by 2.7% year-on-year in December, according to data released by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA).
According to the figures released on Wednesday by StatsSA, on a month-on-month basis, sales increased by 1.4%.
Sales in the three months to the end of December were up by 0.1%, compared with the same period last year.
The largest contributors to this increase were retailers in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods industries. The figures showed to be at 7.0% and contributed 1.6 percentage points to the overall retail sales figures.
The next highest contributor was general dealers, adding 3.5% and contributing 1.5 percentage points.
LAST YEAR’S RESULTS
According to StatsSA, in 2023, retail trade sales decreased by 1.0% compared with 2022.
The research showed that six of the seven types of retailers showed negative year-on-year growth rates over that period. The largest negative contributor was general dealers (-2.4% and contributing -1.0 percentage point).
StatsSA said that the only positive contributor in 2023 was retailers in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods which added 5.7% and contributing 1.0 percentage point.
In terms of seasonally adjusted retail trade, sales increased by 1.4% in December 2023 compared with November 2023, according to the research and this followed month-on-month changes of 1.1% in November 2023 and -1.7% in October 2023.
Retail trade sales increased by 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2023, compared with the fourth quarter of 2022. The largest contributor to this increase were retailers in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods, adding 4.5% and contributing 0.9 of a percentage point.
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