Clothes and shoes help GDP expenditure grow by 4.7%, as SA splurges

Thanks to the increase in spending money on miscellaneous goods and services, such as household equipment, clothing and footwear, South Africa’s GDP expenditure increased at an annualised rate of 4.7% in the first quarter of this year. 

Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) said on Tuesday that insurance-related products and retail goods were significant contributors, that spurred on eager homemakers to splurge. 

Clothing and footwear expenditure increased by 22.2% in the first quarter of 2021. Photo: StatsSA

Clothing and footwear expenditure increased by a whopping 22.2%, with furnishings, household equipment, and maintenance surging by 8.9%. 

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Health-related spending increased by 6.6%, recreation and culture spending by 6.5%, and communication by 6%.

The lifting of the ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages and cigarettes saw this sector enjoy a 2.5% increase. 

However, owing to many businesses opting to allow employees to work from home, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels increased by 2.1%. 

Working from home’s effects were also observed with transport expenditure falling by 1.9%. 

Restaurants and hotels, suffering since March 2020, saw less patrons, and due to having to adhere to restrictions when accommodating customers, saw a decline of 3%.