SA July retail trade sales up 4.2%

20 Sep 2012

Growth in SA's retail trade sales at constant prices increased much lower than expected by 4.2% year on year (y/y) in July after an upwardly revised 8.6% [8.3%] increase in June‚ figures released on Wednesday, 19 September 2012, by Statistics SA showed.

Retail trade sales were expected to have increased by 7.2% year on year (y/y)‚ according to a survey of leading economists by I-Net Bridge.

Forecasts among the ten economists polled ranged from 4.0% to 8.8%.

Measured in real terms‚ seasonally adjusted retail trade sales increased 0.1% in July compared with June.

This followed month-on-month changes of 2.5% in June and -1.0% in May.

In terms of the 4.2% y/y increase in July‚ the highest annual growth rates were recorded for retailers in all 'other' retailers‚ with 11.6%; retailers in textiles‚ clothing‚ footwear and leather goods‚ with 10.5%; and retailers in pharmaceutical and medical goods‚ cosmetics and toiletries‚ with 7.3%.

In real terms‚ retail trade sales increased by 6.2% in the three months ended July compared with the three months ended July last year.

The largest contributors were retailers in textiles‚ clothing‚ footwear and leather goods‚ with 12.1% and contributing 2.8 percentage points; all 'other' retailers‚ with 9.1% and contributing 1.1 percentage points; and general dealers‚ with 3.0% and contributing 1.1 percentage points.

Stats SA announced that it published results for the monthly survey of retail trade sales from a new sample drawn in April 2012‚ which replaced the previous sample that was drawn in April 2011.

The sample was drawn from a business register of enterprises with an annual turnover of at least R1 million and that are required to register with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) for value added tax.

The reported level of total sales for the monthly survey of the retail trade industry for the months April to June 2012 based on the new sample was 2.0% lower than the level of total sales recorded for the previous sample.

The previous sample was drawn in April 2011 and was operational for the last half of 2011 and the first half of 2012.

Source: I-Net Bridge

For more than two decades, I-Net Bridge has been one of South Africa’s preferred electronic providers of innovative solutions, data of the highest calibre, reliable platforms and excellent supporting systems. Our products include workstations, web applications and data feeds packaged with in-depth news and powerful analytical tools empowering clients to make meaningful decisions.

We pride ourselves on our wide variety of in-house skills, encompassing multiple platforms and applications. These skills enable us to not only function as a first class facility, but also design, implement and support all our client needs at a level that confirms I-Net Bridge a leader in its field.

Go to: http://www.inet.co.za