Sentiment in South Africa is improving, with consumers shifting their spending away from essentials. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite several global crises, it seems that South Africans are more optimistic about the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deloitte said that the formation of the GNU, a slight loosening of monetary policy and the stabilisation of the electricity supply that saw an end to load shedding in March have contributed to a more positive outlook for many South Africans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inflation has also fallen continuously, with Stats SA reporting inflation below the target band at 2.8% for October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overall consumer price inflation and food inflation for October this year are roughly half of what they were in October 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The drop in food price inflation, which is at its lowest since November 2019, also sends a positive signal to consumers and gives much-needed relief, especially for low-income households.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Households with little money tend to allocate a disproportionally large share of their spending towards food and hence had a much harsher inflation experience compared to high-income households,” said Deloitte. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The improvement in sentiment is also reflected in Deloitte\u2019s Consumer Signals data. The data, which tracks consumer sentiment including financial well-being and spending intention, has shown improvements throughout the year.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“While household spending on essential items such as food and housing remains high, our data shows that spending on non-essential items has seen an uptick.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n