Income

The total income for the retail trade industry in 2012 was R640 331 million. The largest contributor to the total income was `non-specialised stores with food, beverages and tobacco predominating` (R224 521 million or 35%), followed by `textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods` (R134 867 million or 21%) and `food, beverages and tobacco in specialised stores` (R50 835 million or 8%).

Large enterprises (those with a turnover equal to or greater than R78 million) generated R459 509 million or 72% of the total income of the retail trade industry in 2012, followed by small enterprises (R83 163 million or 13%).

Expenditure

The total expenditure in the retail trade industry in 2012 was R619 324 million. The largest contributor to the total expenditure was `purchases` (R460 787 million or 75%), followed by `salaries and wages` (R59 000 million or 10%).

Employment

The total number of persons employed in the retail trade industry at the end of June 2012 was 700 872. `Non-specialised stores with food, beverages and tobacco predominating` had the largest number of employees (236 509 or 34%), followed by `textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods` (171 109 or 24%) and `household furniture, appliances, articles and equipment` (58 915 or 8%).

The proportion of females out of the total persons employed in the retail industry at the end of June 2012 was 55%. The type of retail trade with the highest proportion of females employed was `pharmaceutical and medical goods, cosmetic and toilet articles` (65%) while `retail trade in hardware, paints and glass` had the lowest proportion of females employed (29%).

Employment by enterprise size in 2012 indicates that the large enterprises (those with turnover equal to or greater than R78 million) had 459 269 employees (65%), followed by small enterprises with 103 653 employees (15%) and micro enterprises with 85 219 employees (12%).