SA's retail sales rise 1.6% in June as ‘other’ retailers and general dealers lead growth

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Measured in real terms at constant 2019 prices, sales from all ‘other’ retailers increased by 7.5%, contributing 0.8 percentage points to overall growth. General dealers recorded 1.8% growth, also contributing 0.8 of a percentage point.

Despite the annual increase, momentum softened on a monthly basis. Seasonally adjusted retail trade sales fell 0.6% in June compared with May, following no change in May and growth of 0.8% in April.

#SAretail || Retail trade sales increased by 1,6% y/y in June. Sales rose by 0,4% in Q2:2026 compared with Q1:2026.

Listen here for more: https://t.co/GrC1XunaB5 #StatsSA #KnowYourStatsZA #GovZAUpdates @GovernmentZA pic.twitter.com/TuyVX2Cf3v

— Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) (@StatsSA) August 19, 2026

Retail growth remains positive in Q2

For the second quarter of 2026, retail trade sales increased 1.7% compared with Q2 2025.

‘Other’ retailers again recorded the strongest growth, increasing 6.2% and contributing 0.7 of a percentage point to the quarterly increase. General dealers grew 1.2%, contributing a further 0.5 of a percentage point.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, retail trade sales increased 0.4% in Q2 2026 compared with Q1.

The strongest contributors to the quarterly increase were food, beverages and tobacco retailers in specialised stores, which grew 2.6%; ‘other’ retailers, up 1.9%; and general dealers, which increased 0.4%.

The figures point to continued growth across parts of South Africa's retail market, although the June month-on-month decline suggests that trading momentum remains uneven as retailers enter the second half of the year.