Consumers in Africa enjoy shopping the most - survey

© Andres Rodriguez - Fotolia.com

Rising affluence has turned the continent's biggest economies into modern-day Meccas for consumer industries‚ with a growing middle class clamouring for high-quality branded goods.

The report‚ which polled 10,000 people in eight of the continent's largest countries including South Africa‚ Nigeria‚ Angola and Ghana‚ showed 60%-90% of consumers expressed strong desire "to buy more things" every year.

This was higher than averages in Brazil‚ China and India‚ and twice the percentage in developed nations‚ it said.

BCG partner and co-author of the report Stefano Niavas said only 30% of consumers said they "already have enough things".

"This is a much lower percentage than in other nations. This suggests a pent-up demand for new products and services.

Embracing consumerism

Africans are beginning to embrace consumerism‚ with 65% agreeing that the desire and ability to buy products move the economy and culture forward‚" he said.

South Africa had the highest number of consumers planning to increase their total spending in all categories - although the expansion was greater for baby and toddler products and clothing‚ footwear and accessories.

This supports retail sales data from Statistics SA‚ which showed last month that sales of clothing and footwear were holding up well despite spending having lost momentum due to higher living costs‚ debt and unemployment.

"Clothing and baby and toddler products are a status symbol ... you cannot travel with your house‚ but your clothing or handbag or how amazingly your baby is dressed ... everyone can see it.

"The South African economy is more of a consumerism economy‚ there is more demand and pressure to consume here‚" Niavas said.

Brand conscious

The report‚ titled 'Understanding Consumers in the Many Africas'‚ showed that African consumers were highly brand conscious across all income levels and were twice as likely as consumers in other countries to decline to purchase a brand or product of which their friends disapproved.

However‚ a one-size fits all approach will not work for investing companies. Ghanaians cited local brand GoldenTree as their favourite candy‚ while global brands dominated in Nigeria‚ with Snickers‚ Mars‚ Kit Kat‚ Cadbury and Bounty named most often.

"Quality‚ performance‚ and familiarity were the top reasons given for choosing a brand‚" BCG said.

Consulting firm Aperio‚ which has worked with Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola‚ said multinationals are already tailoring their propositions in Africa to include localised products and re-engineered pack sizes to influence purchasing behaviour.