SA retailers feeling increasingly confident as load-shedding slows.
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GUEST - Craig Lemboe, deputy director at the Bureau for Economic Research
Retailers in South Africa are feeling increasingly confident, but economists are not expecting a festive time for retailers as 2023 comes to an end. According to the latest BER Retail survey, after climbing from a three-year low of 20 in Q2 2023 to 32 in Q3, the number of retailers that were satisfied with the prevailing business conditions increased further to 47 in the fourth quarter – the highest reading since 2022Q3.
The BER said that the improvement in confidence appears to be driven by improvements in profitability and general business conditions – with load shedding improving at the time of the survey – instead of sales growth.
Retailers in South Africa are feeling increasingly confident, but economists are not expecting a festive time for retailers as 2023 comes to an end. According to the latest BER Retail survey, after climbing from a three-year low of 20 in Q2 2023 to 32 in Q3, the number of retailers that were satisfied with the prevailing business conditions increased further to 47 in the fourth quarter – the highest reading since 2022Q3.
The BER said that the improvement in confidence appears to be driven by improvements in profitability and general business conditions – with load shedding improving at the time of the survey – instead of sales growth.
