The latest retail sales, released by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) on Thursday show January sales grew by 3.1% in comparison to the same period last year.
“The data suggests that there is a recovery underway in the household consumption of durable and semi-durable goods which have struggled under the low growth environment”, said First National Bank (FNB) senior economist Jason Muscat in a note.
Growth was seen across all retail categories with the largest seen in household furniture, appliances and equipment sitting at 9.2%. Textiles, clothing and footwear continued a strong performance showing 6.5% in growth.
While pharmaceuticals recorded growth of 3.7%, general sales softened to 1.1% and food and beverages went up by 3.7%.
“We believe sales will continue to perform at these levels through 2018 as credit growth picks up”, said FNB’s Muscat.
However January sales contracted by 1.6% in comparison to December and seasonally adjusted.
StatsSA Preliminary report: Retail Sales by Kiri Rupiah on Scribd