Retail sales contracted 0.6% year-on-year in October, with hardware, paint and glass, pharmaceuticals and medical products, and cosmetics and toiletries the biggest headwinds to growth, Statistics South Africa said on Wednesday.
Hardware, paint and glass posted a 16th straight quarter of year-on-year decline, falling 4.8% in October, said Raquel Floris, deputy director of distributive trade statistics at Stats SA. Sales of pharmaceutical and medical products, cosmetics and toiletries decreased by 3.4%.
Other retailers that performed poorly in October were specialty food, beverage and tobacco retailers, which posted a 2.3% decline.
On a monthly basis, seasonally adjusted retail sales increased 0.4% in October compared to September.
Investec economist Lara Hodes had forecast retail sales to contract 1% year-on-year.
“Persistent and elevated load shedding continues to impede the ability of retailers to operate optimally, while consumers face rising debt costs and declining real incomes,” it said.
Nedbank economists had forecast a 0.9% annual contraction in October on tight household finances and weak consumer confidence.
