Fashion bolsters retail sales

Retail trade sales increased 3 percent in the month of July when measured against the figures from a year ago.

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Johannesburg - Retail trade sales increased 3 percent in the month of July when measured against the figures from a year ago, Statistics SA said on Wednesday.

The agency says in a statement that this gain is measured in real terms, based on 2012 pricing, which strips out the effect of inflation on sales.

SA’s economy is primarily consumer-led, with consumption accounting for around 60 percent of total gross domestic product.

The agency says the highest annual growth was recorded for retailers in hardware, paint and glass, which gained 6.3 percent.

This category was followed by all ‘other’ retailers, which grew 4.3 percent. It did not specify which outlets fall into the ‘other’ category in a summary on its website.

Retailers in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods gained 3.9 percent, while retailers in pharmaceuticals and medical goods, cosmetics and toiletries saw sales increase 3.5 percent, it said.

The main contributors to the 3.3% increase in sales were general dealers (contributing 1.1 percentage points) and retailers in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods (contributing 0.8 of a percentage point) says the agency.

Adjusting the figures to take into account seasonality, retail sales gained 0.1 percent month-on-month in July 2015. This followed month-on-month changes of 0.4 percent in June 2015 and a 0.3 percent decline in May 2015.

Seasonally adjusted retail trade sales remained unchanged in the three months to July 2015 compared with the previous three months, the agency said.

Quarter-on-quarter, retail trade sales increased by 3 percent in the three months ended July 2015 compared with the three months ended July 2014. The main contributors to this increase were:

- general dealers (2.9 percent and contributing 1.1 percentage points);

- retailers in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods (3.7 percent and contributing 0.7 of a percentage point); and

- retailers in hardware, paint and glass (4.6 percent and contributing 0.4 of a percentage point).

Inflation is currently running at 5 percent, but the SA Reserve Bank has expressed concern that it could go out of its 3 to 6 percent target band.

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