Level 3 Lockdown to have an Impact on Retail Sector

By: Staff Writer

Economist Thanda Sithole says the recent implementation of the level 3 COVID-19 lockdown restriction could partially derail retail sales performance, in particular at food and beverages outlets.

Retail sales jumped 95.% year-on-year in April following a revised 2.3% contraction in March.

On a month-on-month basis, sales were down 0.8%.

Sithole says they expect the negative impact to taper in the second half of this year, although the slack in the labour market implies that the overall recovery will be protracted.