Middle Class Squeeze

SINCE 2016: MOST SA CONSUMERS HAD 53% LESS DISPOSABLE INCOME

- Moneyweb

The middle class in South Africa is under severe strain, easily the most stress in two decades. There are signs of this everywhere you look.

Results from supermarket retailers show a sharp divergence in performance between the more affluent end of the market versus the mass market (Checkers is soaring, while Shoprite is battling as its customers increasingly trade down to U-Save, for example).

According to data from WeBuyCars, the used vehicle market has delivered a compound annual growth rate of 1.1% in the last seven years, while for new cars, this is a 0.8% decline. It has also shared data on how the vehicle parc in the country is ageing, as South Africans are holding onto their cars for longer.

Fashion retailers, notably Mr Price and TFG, have turned their focus to the "value" segment as a growth engine (while Pepkor continues to acquire rivals to expand its share of that market).