An increase in the number of Kasi-based delivery services and a decrease in the age of stokvel participants – these are among the ups and downs of township life that reveal a thriving economy.
The latest Rogerwilco Township CX Report, developed in conjunction with Survey54, polled more than 1,000 township residents across South Africa to understand where and how they spend their money. The third annual Township CX Report, brings significant insights to life and highlights clear changes and trends that provide invaluable marketing evidence for brands.
The 2023 research builds on the insights from 2021 and 2022 to offer a greater understanding of how markets operate in the township context. It examines what brands bring to the Kasi, and gives an indicator of where they are going as township-based businesses draw on all their resilience to deal with the challenges of increasing load shedding and other economic woes.
With rising unemployment rates and food price inflation at 13.4%, the role of spaza shops is ever more important in the lives of township residents. Compared to 2022, there has been a 15% increase in the number of respondents who shop at spazas, with 51% of respondents shopping at spazas on a daily basis. Twenty percent of respondents said they spent between a quarter and a half of their income in townships.
Another interesting development is that respondents spent more than R3,000 in the past year on homegrown fashion, a significant amount in a demographic that is highly brand conscious. The 2023 report helps marketers understand why.
Deeper insights about life in the townships are also available in this report, not the least of which is the propensity for township residents to participate in service delivery protests. It provides additional value by including actionable outcomes for marketing success in the Kasi market.
For more information about how townships residents earn money, where they spend it, who they trust and why, how trends are developing and where all this leaves branding and advertising, the report will be unpacked by a panel of experts during an online report launch on 7 June. Marketers, advertisers and brand owners can register at no cost.
