It's all eyes back on SA retailers to see whether they're actually going to come through with their promised price-cuts now that the petrol price is on the rise again. Pick n Pay's pledged decrease is coming into question after the meeting with their suppliers turned into something of a finger-pointing session - with the suppliers in turn blaming their suppliers (primarily in the packaging sector) for the high costs. More anti-competitive behaviour is rumoured to be the underlying culprit, so further investigation is going to make for some interesting reading. Woolworths, meanwhile, is taking the plunge, claiming it's going to slice and dice the prices of 245 of its products in the hope of attracting the attention of those middle-income shoppers. And so, while some SA consumers are still sitting at the bottom of the corporate retail food chain, the drop in the repo rate is expected to bring some much-needed relief - if not to the table, then to bond balances and those of other fixed assets. And it's a good thing too - what we may not be forking out in car payments may just wind up in our petrol tank after all... But until then, happy savings, folks!

Shan Radcliffe, Retail editor retailnews@bizcommunity.com Responses to this column welcomed in our new online editor's column archive.