The annual growth rate was brought down by sales in general dealers, textile and clothing and food and beverages.

The lower-than-anticipated growth follows from a revised 4.7% in September. Retail trade sales were expected to grow by 4%.

Retail trade sales on a month-on-month basis seasonally adjusted decreased by 1.7%.

The growth rate is likely to remain moderate in the coming months as weak consumer confidence and high debt make consumers more cautious on spending on non-essentials, say Nedbank economists.

"Weak retail sales numbers suggest that demand push inflation is likely to remain contained. We believe that the MPC will keep monetary policy neutral over an extended period in order to balance weak growth prospects and rising inflationary pressures.

"We therefore maintain our view that interest rates will remain unchanged for most of 2013, and a reversal in policy easing is likely only late in the year or even in 2014. However, any deterioration in both the global and domestic economies would increase the chance of another cut," said the bank.

Standard Bank economists said that retail sales growth would continue to be swayed by the polarising forces of softening income growth, stuttering employment and high price growth versus a low-interest rate environment and strong credit growth