Retail sales, once the darling of the economy and a significant contributor to GDP, are on a downward spiral and there is no immediate end in sight. This sets the stage for a bleak festive season and beyond as South Africans struggle in a high interest rate and high inflation environment. Stricter lending has also spoilt the credit party. It is against this backdrop that September retail sales staged a moderate year-on-year rebound, but economists are forecasting more pain down the road. Retail sales grew a better than expected 1.4% year on year in September after no growth in the previous month, according to Statistics SA data released on Wednesday. However, economists were unmoved. Jeffrey Schultz, an economist at BNP Paribas Securities, said this suggested that the retail sector’s contribution to the country’s GDP would be lower than in previous years. Retail and "the manufacturing sector’s disappointing quarterly performance support our view for a sharp slowdown in third-quarter...
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