SA retail trade sales plunge to record lows

Source: Bizcommunity, 24 April 2020, photo credit: The Wall Street Journal

Stats SA reports that South African retail sales plunged by a record 50.4% in April and 12% in May, with April.

“Seasonally adjusted sales at current prices slumped by almost 50% under Level 5 lockdown in April, compared with March. This is the biggest monthly fall in sales since 2002, when Stats SA started publishing monthly growth figures in the current series,” says Keshnee Naidoo, director for distributive trade statistics at Stats SA.

The main contributors to the 12,0% decrease in May were all ‘other’ retailers (contributing -6,5 percentage points); retailers in food, beverages and tobacco in specialised stores (contributing -2,2 percentage points); and general dealers (contributing -2,1 percentage points).

The largest negative annual growth rates were recorded for all ‘other’ retailers (-55,5%), retailers in household furniture, appliances and equipment (-30,1%); and retailers in food, beverages and tobacco in specialised stores (-29,1%).
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