Food retailers come under pressure as the domestic economy falters. When the domestic economy sneezes, consumers are likely to catch a cold.

The central city of Cape Town is on a development trajectory that could see it supporting a 24-hour economy, according to Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID) chairperson Rob Kane.

Five hundred employees of East London-owned Just On Cosmetics were sent home when 43 stores shut their doors just over a week ago.

Retailers have either changed or died and all because of empowered consumers, said Chris Sanderson, co-founder of the UK based Future Laboratory.

South Africa is a country that loves shopping, but the big question is whether the retail industry has run out of steam, according to Rohit Talwar, futurist and strategic adviser of FastFuture.

Consumer confidence improved in the third quarter but remained in negative territory, indicating the toll several factors are taking on households and their ability to spend.

Spaza shops have in recent times attracted a negative light following xenophobic violence and attacks on foreigners, particularly Pakistanis and Somalis, in townships around the country.

A weak domestic labour market, households’ subdued credit uptake, rising inflation and low consumer confidence are likely to "keep a lid" on consumer spending in the medium term, according to economists who were reacting to lacklustre retail sales figures released.

Some South African banks are beginning to ease corporate lending rates, and others could follow, seeking to curb a decline in their main business area by encouraging companies to borrow in the face of a sluggish economy and an electricity crisis.