NAB defines racial demographic shifts

For instance, the contribution of black purchasing decision makers (PDM's) has increased dramatically in the Midrand, Johannesburg South, Rosebank/Killarney and Kempton Park areas while others have remained fairly constant in areas like Benoni, Northcliff/Melville and Randburg.

"This survey makes it clear that marketers need to keep abreast with the residential shifts taking place in the market. We know that the black spending power has surpassed that of whites but now we can see that in the more affluent areas of Johannesburg, the racial profiles are beginning to shift quite radically. For instance, Johannesburg South and Kempton Park have seen some drastic changes - black PDM's have increased in Jhb South from 9% in 2000 to 27% in 2004 and white PDM's declined from 78% to just 52% in this area.

Kempton Park has increased in popularity among the black PDM's radically from 2% to 21% during the same period while white Kempton residents have dropped from 98% to 76%. These are profile shifts that marketers need to be aware of in order to stay in touch with the markets they serve," says John.

Changes from 2000

Even small changes are relevant in some previously dominant white suburbs. Alberton, for instance, has doubled its make up of black PDM's from 4% to 8% while the white PDM"s have dropped from 91% to 85%. In the Bedfordview/Edenvale area, black PDM's have grown marginally from 9% to 11% while white PDM percentages has moved from 85% to 79%. Benoni, on the other hand, has avoided the trend with black PDM figures decreasing from 7% to 5%.

Similarly, in Boksburg, black PDM's have decreased from 6% to 4%, while white PDM's have increased from 92% to 95%.

Midrand shows the most dramatic racial shifts and seems to be the hotspot for attracting affluent black PDM's. In 2000 black PDM's represented just 29% of this area. Today the area is made up of 52% black PDM's. White PDM's show the opposite dramatic decline, dropping from 69% to 36%. This is similar to Pretoria Central's figures, increasing from 51% to 73% for black residents and decreasing from 46% to 25% for whites.

Roodepoort has increased its black residents from 4% to 8%, while white resident figures have declined from 90% to 81%. Rosebank/Killarney shows a similar trend to that of Midrand where Black PDM's have grown from 10% to 29%, with white figures decreasing from 81% to 67%. This pattern, although not as dramatic, holds true for the Sandton area with black residents increasing from 11% to 18%, and white PDM's dropping from 83% to 77%.

The coloured and Asian market have grown substantially in the Johannesburg South, Midrand and Roodepoort areas with figures increasing from 13% to 21% in Jhb South, 2% to11% in Midrand, and 6% to 11% in Roodepoort, respectively.

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