Retail Growth in South Africa and Implications for Marketing Communication By: Isaac Riba 15 July 2013 As more news about the thinning consumer’s wallet, there is a hopeful long-term outlook for the South African retail consumer. Retail trade growth is expected to continue to rise for at least the next decade. The industry is expected to grow by more than $400 billion by 2020[1]; interestingly, the retail sector still presents a lucrative business opportunity in Africa. Rising Demand vs Import-Based Demand South Africans’ standards of living are improving[2]. This implies that retail demand is generally on the rise. It has also been shown that Africans are highly brand-conscious[3]; the rise of social media and high ICT growth in Africa is a catalyst of this pattern of consumption. The tricky point of this is that if local brands fail to make it into the consumer head-space, there could be more brand imperialism. African marketers will have to work harder in maintaining local brands. Countering import-based demand saves costs for both the marketer and the consumer; it is a win-win deal. The shorter it takes for a product or service to reach a consumer, the cheaper it becomes- and it is good news for green business! Improving Standards of Living vs Heterogenizing Markets As more people become urbanised and others choose to live elsewhere, it becomes more difficult to segment groups of customers within the market according to conventional methods of analysis[4]; changing consumer patterns of life and geographical location imply that marketers will have to spend more time finding accurate ways of segmenting the market. Although technology has made it easier for marketers to reach customers, the growing complexity of society makes segmentation and market targeting to become a difficult task. References [1] Hattingh,D. , Russo, B. , Sun Basorun, A. & Van Wamelen, A. 2012. The Rise of The African Consumer. Web Address: mckinsey [2] timeslive.co.za/local/2012/08/28/south-african-living-standards-improve-study [3]Pillay , P. 2007. The importance of branding fast moving consumer goods in retail chain stores : consumers and marketers perceptions in South Africa. Doctoral Thesis, UKZN. [4] bdlive.co.za/national/2013/07/03/changing-suburbs-diminish-relevance-of-marketing-to-race vikemap.wozaonline.co.za/Publications+26+Articles
Posted on: Mon, 15 Jul 2013 04:57:34 +0000
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