The Quarterly Buzz, powered by YouGov's BrandIndex platform, continuously tracks public sentiment across more than 200 brands in South Africa. The tool measures 16 different metrics spanning the entire marketing funnel, with the standout 'Buzz'metric capturing whether consumers have encountered positive or negative brand information in the past two weeks. Scored from +100 to -100, these rankings offer a real-time pulse check on brand performance relative to competitors.
The big movers
FNB's return to the top of the rankings marks the second time the brand has led the Quarterly Buzz, having last held the position in Q3 2024. The bank has consistently featured in the top 10 since inception, and this quarter marked a two-rank climb from third to first position.
Checkers is the standout performer this quarter. A seven-rank climb from ninth to second place makes it the biggest single mover in this edition of the rankings, and it's the only brand in the top 10 to have significantly increased on the Buzz metric itself, driven by consumers having recently heard something positive about the brand.
Woolworths Food holds its fourth-place position from last quarter, a rare pocket of stability in a category that has otherwise seen plenty of movement. Takealot slips two ranks to third, having held the top spot as recently as Q1 2026, while KFC drops three places to fifth. Pick n Pay climbs two ranks to sixth.
Two new brands enter the top 10 this quarter. Capitec debuts at seventh – its first appearance in the rankings – with strong gains on Awareness, Ad Awareness, Attention, Word of Mouth, and Satisfaction. Vodacom returns at eighth, its first appearance since Q1 2024.
Woolworths Clothing moves down two places to ninth, and Shoprite falls four places to close out the top 10 at tenth.
A shifting balance in food and groceries
Food, Groceries and Consumables remains the most represented sector in the top 10, with four brands – Checkers, Woolworths Food, Pick n Pay and Shoprite – featuring this quarter. That's a shift from the category's earlier dominance, when five or more brands from the sector routinely filled the rankings. It isn't a sign that food and grocery brands are losing ground so much as a normalising of what was previously an outsized share – these are brands South Africans interact with constantly, which naturally generates high volumes of earned and organic conversation. The narrowing may also point to a more fragmented landscape, where consumers are exposed to a wider spread of brand touchpoints, diluting the dominance any single brand or sector once held.
Financial Services also has a strong showing this quarter, with FNB at first and Capitec's debut at seventh giving the sector two brands in the top 10.
Channel spotlight
Source: KLA YourView Consumer Panel, Omnibus, (April-June 2026, n=1802)
Digital and online channels lead recall in seven of the eight sectors tracked this quarter, with Insurance the one exception, where TV holds the top spot and digital follows in second. Social media takes second place in Restaurants/QSR and Food Delivery, Clothing and Footwear, and Home Décor and Furniture, and sits just behind TV in third across most of the remaining sectors.
Word of mouth continues to carry weight further down the ranking across most categories, typically landing between fourth and sixth position. Rewards programmes feature across most sectors in the lower-to-mid tier – a reminder that loyalty mechanics remain a meaningful, if secondary, driver of recall, even where digital and TV dominate the top of the funnel.
Three key takeaways for marketers
Consistency pays off, eventually. FNB's ascent to the top – only the second time it has led the rankings – followed quarters of steady top 10 presence rather than a single standout campaign. Sustained visibility across the funnel builds toward leadership over time.
Momentum on a single metric, alongside movement across brands, can move the needle quickly. Checkers' seven-rank climb was driven specifically by a significant increase in Buzz, showing how a concentrated positive shift in public conversation can translate into meaningful rank movement within a single quarter.
New entrants are reshaping established categories. Capitec and Vodacom's arrival in the top 10 is a reminder that no position is guaranteed, and that brands outside the traditional top tier are capable of breaking through when the metrics align.
For more information about the Quarterly Buzz or KLA's YouGov offering (BrandIndex and Profiles), visit www.kla.co.za or contact az.oc.alk@neehkar.
