Consumers are ringing in the holiday season with a solid start to retail sales, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which looks at overall retail spending trends across all payment types.<\/p>\n
October \u2013 South Africa\u2019s third biggest month for retail spending after December and November \u2013 saw retail sales rise 1.1% over the same month in 2017 when the effects of inflation are removed.<\/p>\n
Including the effects of inflation, retail sales rose 3.9% year-over-year, as consumer prices ticked up slightly in October amidst higher oil prices.<\/p>\n
Retail sales climbed 2.8% between January and October after adjusting for inflation – a substantial improvement from the 1.4% pace seen for the same period in 2017.<\/p>\n
\u201cRetail performance in 2018 shows that South Africa\u2019s consumer has recovered from the lows of 2016 and 2017,\u201d said Warren Zambelli, principal Advisors division lead at Mastercard.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince October, oil prices have fallen sharply, helping to ease price pressure in the near term, benefitting consumers as they enter into the festive season shopping period.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a third straight month, apparel remained the top performing sector of those tracked by SpendingPulse, with October sales rising 2.7% over 2017 after adjusting for inflation.<\/p>\n
For retailers selling pharmaceuticals, medical goods, toiletries, and cosmetics<\/strong>, growth in sales continue to outperform total retail with sales up 2.2% over October 2017 when the effects of inflation are removed.<\/p>\n November has been driving a larger share of annual retail spending in South Africa each year since Mastercard SpendingPulse started tracking retails sales in 2012.<\/p>\n Last year retail sales surpassed 9.4% growth for the month over 2016, as Black Friday discounts and the growth of eCommerce spurred early festive season shopping.<\/p>\n
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