Data released by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) on Wednesday showed that retail trade sales increased by 1.3% compared with April 2025, although the pace of growth slowed from a revised 2.5% increase recorded in March.
South African consumers continued to open their wallets in April, with retail sales rising by 1.3% year-on-year, supported by strong demand for household goods, furniture and a broad range of miscellaneous retail products despite mounting pressure from rising fuel costs.
Data released by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) on Wednesday showed that retail trade sales increased by 1.3% compared with April 2025, although the pace of growth slowed from a revised 2.5% increase recorded in March.
The figures suggest that consumers remained active in the retail sector, even as higher living costs and economic uncertainty weighed on household budgets.
Raquel Floris, deputy director for distributive trade statistics at StatsSA, said five of the seven major retail categories recorded growth during the month.
