Retail survey shows changing spread of 'black diamonds'

4 Jun 2010

A retail and readership survey looking at towns and cities throughout SA has noted large changes in demographics - particularly in the way so-called "black diamond" behaviour has begun to fragment.

The Roots 2010 survey, launched by Caxton-CTP and the Newspaper Advertising Bureau (NAB), is important for retailers hoping to target consumers correctly. The survey interviewed more than 25000 purchase decision makers across 105 communities from Tzaneen to Fish Hoek.

Gill Randall, joint MD of NAB, on Wednesday, 2 June 2010, said that when it came to "black diamonds" three distinct groups had emerged since The Roots survey started in 2004 in Gauteng and Polokwane.

"You have the group of black diamonds in Soweto - which is not surprising - but Midrand is now 50% black and they are young (24-36 years old) with high incomes and children, while 58% of those living in Polokwane's metropolitan area are black with high incomes and no children," she said.

Major shifts

The survey found that in Gauteng, in particular, major racial shifts took place between 2004 and 2007, and that these changes had held steady over the past seven years.

The number of black purchase decision makers in Kempton Park grew from 22% in 2004 to 36% in 2007 and is now at 38%.

The coloured population is now 4%, the Indian population is static at 2% and the white population is down from 76% in 2004 to 54% this year.

The research on Polokwane has shown that while the black population has increased, the proportion of Indian, coloured and white consumers has decreased - in the case of the white population from 62% in 2007 to 36% this year.

John Bowles, who is also joint MD of NAB, said: "Information like this is extremely valuable to retailers who hope to secure their fair share of disposable income, as they need to understand the dynamics of the communities in which they operate."

Lifestyle trends

Other interesting data that emerged from the survey - which looked at a range of lifestyle trends from pet ownership to television viewing habits - include that 75% of higher-LSM (living standards measure) black consumers in Soweto buy KFC; and that 66% of the Durban North-Umhlanga area consumers have pet dogs but only 10% have a security system.

Bedfordview and Edenvale have the highest concentration of LSM 9 and 10 purchase decision makers in the country.

Sea Point in Cape Town apparently has the most prolific Facebook users in the country.

Source: Business Day

Source: I-Net Bridge

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