The root of 2016's digital consumer

Last week, SPARK Media CEO Gill Randall kicked off the Johannesburg version of the #ROOTS2016 launch. Yesterday John Bowles, SPARK Media’s chief operations officer introduced the Cape Town marketing, media and creative industry to the presentation, with the Durban leg taking place on 14 April and all the insights to be revealed on 18 April.

© Lauren Smith on Instagram.

After 28,000 interviews throughout 120 urban communities, South Africa's largest urban community level quantitative survey, sponsored by Caxton, is back. Bowles’ presentation kicked off with a performance by gumboot dancers and a version of 'The times they are a-changing’. That’s a fitting choice for an event that's all about just how things change over time, particularly consumer trends. If you don't keep up, you won't be top of mind for long.

That's the warning from the SPARK Media team. While economic headwinds have intensified and consumer confidence is at an all-time low, necessary purchases are still being made – but what are consumers buying, from where, and why? This all points to the fact that there's never been a more pertinent time to ensure you know your customer to keep your business afloat in the bad times and shining brightly when things are going well. Hence the ROOTS2016 theme of ‘survival’.

Know thy customer

Bowles explained that ‘marketing science’ is no longer an oxymoron, as with #ROOTS2016, science has finally come to marketing. The magic of ROOTS, he said, is that it’s gathered with the consumer, not just in the big metros. And that consumer is largely online. The somewhat sceptical audience murmured their approval on hearing that the rise of the digital consumer, touted as one of the biggest consumer trends of 2016 – has been well and truly factored into the research.

As an example of this, Bowles talked us through a typical evening at home in Chiawelo, Soweto. It’s a house with lots going on – a soapie on the TV, social media being checked and updated through internet-connected devices and in-depth news being read in the local newspaper, usually all at the same time. In 2013 internet penetration in Chiawelo was at 2% and in the past three years has skyrocketed to 38% – a great insight but not indicative of what you’d find in the rest of Gauteng or even in different areas of Soweto, so Bowles cautions against using regional comparisons and national averages.

At the end of the day we need to cut through the clutter. Build your share one person at a time, one area at a time. Look at it area by area to figure out your competition, says Samu Makhathini, research manager at SPARK Media, but keep in mind that certain trends do apply across the country:

@kfc is top of mind for fast food purchases #roots2016 #insightsthatignite pic.twitter.com/D4YztEsLRe

— Spark Media SA (@sparkmediasa) April 12, 2016

For more information, contact Makhathini on sm@sparkmedia.co.za. Follow the launch on Twitter @sparkmediasa with the #ROOTS2016 hashtag and find them on Facebook.