South Africa Retail Trade Growth Below Forecasts

Retail sales in South Africa rose by 1.6% year-on-year in June 2026, slowing from a downwardly revised 2.2% increase in May and missing market expectations of a 2.3% advance. The slowdown was reflected in pharmaceuticals and medical goods, cosmetics and toiletries, where sales growth eased to 1.4% from 1.8% in May, while hardware, paint and glass and textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods recorded declines of 4% and 2.2%, respectively. More positively, robust sales were seen for household furniture, appliances and equipment (8.5% vs 7.6%); all other retailers (7.5% vs 6.4%); food, beverages & tobacco (3% vs -0.2%) and general dealers (1.8% vs 0.9%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail sales shrank by 0.6%, after a revised flat reading the month before. Retail trade sales increased by 1.7% in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the second quarter of 2025.

Retail sales in South Africa increase 2.3% year-on-year in May 2026, accelerating from a downwardly revised 1.2% increase in the previous month. Retailers in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods gave the largest contribution, where sales rebounded by 3.7% following a 1% decline in the previous month. Sales also remained steady among general dealers (1.0%, unchanged from April), while growth in pharmaceuticals, medical goods, cosmetics and toiletries retailers accelerated to 2.1% from 0.6%. Meanwhile, sales growth slowed for retailers of household furniture, appliances and equipment (8.1% vs. 8.6%), and declined for food, beverages and tobacco in specialised stores (-0.4% vs. -0.3%), and hardware, paint and glass retailers (-0.4% vs. 0.1%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail sales rose 0.1%, easing from a 0.9% increase in April. Over the three months to May, retail trade increased 2.0% compared with the same period a year earlier.

Retail sales in South Africa increased by 1.3% from a year ago in April 2026, following a downwardly revised 2.5% rise in the prior month. The largest positive contributors were all ‘other’ retailers (+7.3%); retailers in household furniture, appliances and equipment (+9.5%) and retailers in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods (+2.3%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail sales rose by 0.9% in April, accelerating from a 0.1% increase in the previous month. Retail trade went up by 1.8% in the three months ended April 2026 compared with the three months ended April 2025.