SA retail sales jump 95.8% in April

Stats SA reports that South Africa's retail trade sales increased by 95.8% year on year in April 2021.
A shopper wearing a face mask waits her turn to pay for her grocery items, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) at Mall of the south, in Johannesburg, South Africa, 17 June 2020. Source: Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
A shopper wearing a face mask waits her turn to pay for her grocery items, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) at Mall of the south, in Johannesburg, South Africa, 17 June 2020. Source: Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko

The largest annual growth rates were recorded for: retailers in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods (1.675.6%); retailers in hardware, paint and glass (814.4%); retailers in household furniture, appliances and equipment (737.6%); and all ‘other’ retailers (677.8%).

The main contributors to this increase were: retailers in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods (contributing 34,5 percentage points); all ‘other’ retailers (contributing 17.8 percentage points); retailers in hardware, paint and glass (contributing 14.5 percentage points); and general dealers (contributing 10.4 percentage points).

Seasonally adjusted retail trade sales decreased by 0.8% in April 2021 compared with March 2021. This followed month-on-month changes of -4.5% in March 2021 and 7.7% in February 2021. In the three months ended April 2021, seasonally adjusted retail trade sales increased by 2.2% compared with the previous three months.

Retail trade sales increased by 18.7% in the three months ended April 2021 compared with the three months ended April 2020. The main contributors to this increase were retailers in: textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods (74.7% and contributing 8.9 percentage points); and hardware, paint and glass (49.4% and contributing 3.3 percentage points).

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