South Africa’s retail trade rose by 2.9% year-on-year in October 2025, following a downwardly revised 3% increase in September and above market forecasts of a 2.3% growth. Categories making the largest positive contributions to this increase included textiles, clothing, footwear, and leather goods (+5.8%, contributing 1 percentage point); all ‘other’ retailers (+7.2%, 0.7 point); household furniture, appliances, and equipment (+13.0%, 0.5 point); and hardware, paint, and glass (+5.8%, 0.5 point). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail trade went up by 0.9% in October, after a revised 0.1% decrease in the previous month.