SA retail sales plunge by more than half of usual numbers

Statistics South Africa media statement: 

Key findings: P6242.1 – Retail trade sales, May 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown regulations since 27 March 2020 have had an extensive impact on economic activity. Measured in real terms (constant 2015 prices), retail trade sales decreased by 12,0% year-on-year in May 2020. 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%).

The main contributors to the 12,0% decrease 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).

Seasonally adjusted retail trade sales increased by 74,2% in May 2020 compared with April 2020. This followed month-on-month changes of -50,7% in April 2020 and 6,7% in March 2020. In the three months ended May 2020, seasonally adjusted retail trade sales decreased by 18,9% compared with the previous three months.

Retail trade sales decreased by 19,5% in the three months ended May 2020 compared with the three months ended May 2019. The main contributors to this decrease were:

• retailers in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods (-36,9% and contributing -6,4 percentage points); and
• all ‘other’ retailers (-49,6% and contributing -6,1 percentage points).