Woolies keeps number 1 spot in SA Retail Sentiment Index

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By analysing over 1.8 million public social media posts, the index offers valuable insights into consumer satisfaction and key performance metrics for Checkers, Pick n Pay, Shoprite, Spar, and Woolworths.

Woolworths reigns supreme In an industry-wide recovery, all five retailers saw year-on-year improvements, driving industry Net Sentiment 1 up from 3.3% to 8.8%. Woolworths maintained its first-place ranking, despite seeing the smallest annual improvement.

Net Sentiment is a real-time customer satisfaction metric that is measured by collecting unstructured text from publicly available online conversations.

Pricing perceptions decline

Nic Ray, CEO at DataEQ noted that while Woolworths achieved the highest overall Net Sentiment score, its performance in pricing and service declined.

“All retailers, except Checkers, experienced declining consumer sentiment towards pricing. Previous top performer, Woolworths, saw the most notable decline, dropping to third place in this category behind Shoprite and Checkers. As the economic climate continues to intensify, Ray believes that pricing will remain a key deciding factor for consumers when it comes to their day-to-day shopping.

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“To address the declining perceptions towards pricing, retail strategies could include more transparent pricing policies, frequent promotions, and more comprehensive loyalty programmes to offer better value to customers.”

House brands: a lifeline in tough times

In terms of product-related conversation, house brands remained a prominent topic of positivity across the industry, especially for Woolworths.

Given the rising financial pressures facing South African households, these white-label products offer an accessible choice for consumers.

“Considering the strong performance of house brands, retailers should look to expand their in-house range and emphasise their value and quality in marketing campaigns to attract price-sensitive customers,” Ray suggests.

Customer service remains a major pain point

Omnichannel experiences were inconsistent across the industry, with consumers reporting different service levels for branch, delivery, call centre, and email. Nevertheless, all retailers had negative Net Sentiment towards customer service with issues around turnaround time and staff conduct emerging as the biggest complaint drivers.

Checkers saw the least negative sentiment for customer service, having shown major improvements in turnaround time and response rates. This was largely linked to improved experiences on the Sixty60 delivery app.

“Customer service remains a major driver of negativity across the industry. Retailers should nvest in employee training and robust customer service protocols across all channels, including social media, to ensure consistent and high-quality service,” Ray concludes.