Women still the primary decision-makers in SA homes

Caxton Media’s Roots is South Africa's leading urban, community-level, quantitative survey that provides marketers with unequalled demographic and behavioural information about their customer base. It's the country's longest running and most comprehensive independent local consumer research survey, conducted every three years.

Roots 8.1 surveyed women’s participation in eight main business categories, including tech (cellphones, shopping retailers); leisure (entertainment, gambling, eating, shows, travel); loyalty (current use, best value/benefits); food and groceries (shopping, retailers, categories); fashion, beauty, health (clothing retailers, hair, treatments, supplements, fitness tracking); transport (public, cars, servicing, purchases); finance (banks, accounts, insurance, monthly outgoings); and the home (structure, shopping, retailers).

The survey revealed that women are the ones making household decisions, doing the shopping and looking after their health.

Specifically, Roots found that 60% of consumers mostly responsible for food and grocery shopping were women. In addition, 52% of people mostly responsible for home and family decisions were women.

“This tells us that women are still the primary shoppers and decision-makers when it comes to what the home and family needs and uses. Marketers can use this data to guide their communications campaigns,” explains Lynne Krog, head of research at Caxton Media.

In the areas surveyed, 53% of college or university graduates were women, pointing to steadily increasing higher education rates among women. This underscores their need for authentic brand and product information from which to make informed purchase decisions.

Of those respondents regularly using health and nutritional supplements, 59% were women. “This reflects the growing demand for and production of women-focused healthcare products and supplements in recent years,” adds Krog.

Roots 8.1 was commissioned by Caxton Media, undertaken by India-based Borderless Access and published by Caxton Media. It surveyed 25 000 adults aged 18+ representing 10.8 million adults and 4.5 million households in 107 communities. Interviews were conducted via an online panel with supplementary face-to-face interviews in communities where digital connection was limited.