Pretoria - Retail trade sales rose by 6.8% year-on-year in March, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said on Wednesday.
In February, retail sales rose by a downward revised 6.7% increase.
According to Stats SA, retail trade sales for the first quarter of 2012 showed an increase of 5.9% compared to the first quarter of 2011. Contributors to the increase were general dealers at 5.9%; other retailers at 8.3% as well as retailers in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods at 5.4%.
On a month-on-month, basis sales increased by 2.1%
"Although retail sales were higher than expected over the month, the decline over the first quarter probably suggests that domestic demand is starting to lose momentum. Weaker growth is likely as the year progresses," said Nedbank economists.
