November retail trade sales increase y/y

Measured at constant (2008) prices, retail trade sales increased by 6.8% year-on-year (y/y) in November 2011, Statistics SA reported Wednesday, 18 January. However, seasonally adjusted retail trade sales decreased by 0.3% in November 2011 compared with October 2011. This followed month-on-month changes of 0.7% in October 2011 and 1.5% in September 2011.

Growth did lose momentum, as expected by economists in the I-Net Bridge survey, from a y/y growth of 7.4% in October. November growth forecasts among the six economists ranged from 4.3% to 7.9% - with the average being 7.0%

The highest annual growth rate was recorded for 'retailers in hardware, paint and glass' (17.6%), followed by 'retailers in household furniture, appliances and equipment' (10.4%) and 'retailers in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods' (7.9%).

In real terms, retail trade sales for the three months ended November 2011 reflected an increase of 7.3% compared with the three months ended November 2010, Stats SA added. The largest contributor to this increase was 'general dealers' (5.6% and contributing 2.1 percentage points), followed by 'retailers in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods' (8.5% and contributing 1.7 percentage points),'retailers in hardware, paint and glass' (16.2% and contributing 1.2 percentage points) and 'all other retailers' (9.6% and contributing 1.2 percentage points).