Retail sales surge by 7% in January as SA consumers spend more

Philippa Larkin

Retail activity in South Africa kicked off 2025 with its best foot forward in January as consumers continued to benefit from a favorable economic environment leading them to have more spending power. Data released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on Wednesday revealed that retail trade sales, measured in real terms (constant 2019 prices), soared by 7.0% year-on-year, outpacing Bloomberg consensus forecasts of market expectations of a 3.9% hike. This follows a solid 3.2% increase in December 2024, signaling sustained momentum in consumer spending. The uptick was widespread, with all seven categories in the retail basket posting gains compared to January 2024. Leading the charge were general dealers, which recorded an 8.4% increase, contributing 3.6 percentage points to the headline figure. This category, accounting for over 40% of the retail…

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Star South Africa (Digital) - 1 Issue, 2025-03-20

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