Consumers are happier, shopping more frequently and loving delivery apps

Scope and context

Project EAT 2026 captures the real eating and food-shopping behaviour of 3,000 South Africans, comparing it with data from the same study in 2023. Featuring the insights of 100 daily interviews between 10 August 2026 and 8 September 2026, it reveals how consumer consumption and purchase patterns are changing, and why.

The research covered all provinces, races, genders and income levels, with the sample being representative of grocery shoppers in ‘local South Africa’ (Roots 8.1, 2025). The questions put to respondents were the same as in 2023, and covered the day in context; the main meal; the nutrition and health framework; food and grocery shopping (including buying and cooking patterns, and preferred retailers); and looking for deals, specials or promotions when food and grocery shopping.

The context of the survey, set by the 2023 vs 2026 comparison, shows that South Africans felt ‘very bad’ (61%) about the cost of food and groceries three years ago, due to significant load shedding, and sudden, dramatic hikes in food prices. On an average day in 2023, 75% of people experienced load shedding, 23% of whom experienced it over the time they ate their main meal.

Lynne Krog, head of research at Caxton Media, says that in 2026 consumers are handling food inflation much better, having gotten used to food price increases.

“That number has dropped significantly; only 29% of consumers ‘feel bad’ about food and grocery costs today. In the absence of load shedding, South Africans are also significantly happier. Respondents describing their mood as good or excellent rose from 36% in 2023 to 49% in 2026 for weekdays, and from 44% to 56% for weekends. This is consistent with the findings related to productivity, happiness and relaxation, where Monday to Thursday are the most productive days, Friday and Sunday are the happiest days, and Saturday and Sunday are the most relaxing days,” Krog explains.

Home cooking preferred

The research shows that 87% of all main meals eaten across the month are home-cooked, up from 82% in 2023. Most (45%) of main meals are eaten in the evening, followed by lunchtime (35%) and then breakfast (20%).

The lunchtime main meal remains the biggest opportunity for take-out or restaurant eating, consistent with 2023 but at a lower level, with restaurants having lost the most ground, dropping from 5% of all main meals to just 2%.

Ease and speed lead meal choice

South African consumers choose home cooked main meals based on how quickly and easily they can be prepared (55%) followed by the meal’s comfort level (30%) or health benefits (27%). Take-aways and RTE main meals are chosen for their convenience, as a treat or when they are on special.

Most consumers are cooking their regular or favourite main meals (55%) or dishes based on their own inspiration (38%) or inspired by friends or family (29%). Online searches inspire 27% of main meal choices compared to print (25%), social media (21%) and AI assistance (4%).

Reflecting this growing need for speed and convenience, air fryers are having a moment, with 17% of consumers using airfryers to heat their main meals today compared to only 5% in 2023. The use of microwaves increased from 14% to 15% and slow cookers from 2% to 5%, but the use of both electric and gas stoves and ovens dropped dramatically.

The use of braais to cook main meals also jumped from 7% to 13%, possibly driven by the three Springbok vs All Black rugby games that occurred during the research period.

South Africans still love their treats, and tend to end off every meal with something sweet (peaking on a Friday at 72%). Cold dessert (24%), cake (21%) and chocolate (18%) are the favourite treats, followed by sweets (14%), hot dessert (13%) and biscuits (12%).

High protein, low carb still popular

The survey asked consumers which nutritional approach they followed from high protein, low carb, calorie controlled, vegetarian or vegan, and whole food eating. Overwhelming (58%) people follow one or more approach, sticking to high protein, low carb and calorie-controlled diets the most. Fasting is widely practiced, but on an ad hoc basis. The popularity of vegetarianism and veganism is dropping, while whole food eating is widely adopted (65%).

“Although there is an increase in the desire for high protein choices, there is continued demand for vegetables generally, and for affordable, filling carbs in lower income homes. We saw an increase in the purchase of chicken, eggs, beans, lentils and maize meal, but a decrease in the purchase of potatoes,” says Krog.

The number of South Africans only eating one meal per day has increased (from 29% to 33%), but there is an interesting story here. On one hand, more people from the lowest income homes are only eating once per day (from 40% to 46%) but so are more people from the highest income homes (21% to 25%). “Ironically, where the increase among the lowest income groups is most likely due to economic constraints, the increase within the highest income group is most likely due to perceived health benefits,” she adds.

Shopping trips fragmented

Another interesting trend is playing out in the way that South Africans shop. The rhythm of the monthly food and grocery shop is still alive, with consumers claiming to still doing their monthly bulk shop with top-ups (45% in 2023 and 2026).

However, the percentage of people shopping on an average day has increased significantly (43% in 2023 to 57% in 2026). Shoppers are popping into the supermarket to do top-ups more often now than in 2023.

Grocery delivery apps are playing a role here, and now sit as the fourth biggest ‘retailer’ used by consumers. This is both in terms of penetration (the percentage of people using delivery apps in a month) and in effectively converting those shoppers into spending most of their grocery money on the app.

Individually, Checkers Sixty60 and PnP ASAP are the best performing apps, however ASAP is not converting as successfully as Sixty60 in compensating for in-store under-conversion.

“In 2023 grocery shopping peaked on a Saturday and Sunday. This year this pattern has changed. Shopping has shifted to a Friday and Saturday, leaving Sunday for relaxing. Grocery delivery apps are increasingly being used in the week, and on a Sunday if needed. So while the rhythm of food and grocery shopping remains largely unchanged, the daily penetration has grown as money is spread across more stores. This shopping fragmentation is being driven by the search for value,” Krog explains.

Hunting for deals

This issue of looking for value remains important to consumers. In 2026 deal seeking is universal and widely used before and during the shop. The most popular channels to search for specials and promotions before shopping are online (apps or websites – 70%), print or electronic catalogues (64%), and printed brochures or newspapers (59%).

Once in-store, consumers use loyalty card discounts (55%) and take advantage of lower shelf pricing (47%), multibuy offers (46%), coupons (24%), app-only specials (20%), bundle offers (19%), reduced to clear (16%), free gift/extra product (12%), and end-of-aisle specials (11%).

Almost all in-store shoppers (88%) and app shoppers (78%) use their loyalty cards on an average day.

“Brand and retail marketers can use these behavioural trends to inform their 2027 strategies to influence consumer spend. They should look for ways to monetise home cooking; build salient ranges around protein, whole food and affordable satiety; maximise delivery apps; tap into weekly shopping top-ups; and co-ordinate promotions across print, digital and in-store channels to communicate value,” Krog concludes.

To explore how these findings can inform your 2027 marketing strategy, email az.oc.notxac@ksa to request the full Project EAT 2026 report or arrange a presentation of the findings with the Caxton Media team.

Originally published here: https://www.caxtonmedia.co.za/consumers-are-happier-shopping-more-frequently-and-loving-delivery-apps-news.