For South Africans, economic pain hit long before recession

South Africa's recession took economists by surprise, but for clothing shop owner Hans Setlhabi the gloomy numbers confirmed what he already knew - chronic unemployment and lofty inflation have shattered consumer confidence.

"I wasn't surprised to hear about the recession. I saw that the economy was going down last year," said 38-year old Setlhabi, staring at shelves piled high with clothes offered at discount prices.