SA consumers shed recessionary mindset

FMCG SUPPLIER NEWS

Fin24 - Aug 6th 2012, 08:14

Johannesburg - South Africans seem to be shedding the recessionary mindset. 

That is the general trend emerging from the Sunday Times Top Brands Survey. Commissioned by Avusa Media and conducted by TNS, the survey interviewed 400 senior business people as well as 3 500 consumers over the age of 18.

The results show a significant rise in category usage from last year, indicating a resurge of consumer optimism.

According to Neil Higgs, senior adviser and head of innovation at TNS South Africa, the company's consumer confidence measure paints a relatively bullish picture of South African consumers in the first quarter of the year, with a decided bias towards spending on luxury items.

The survey rated overall brand familiarity, user experience, non-user perception and actual brand presence in the South African market in 38 consumer categories and 13 business sector categories.

The winning brands were announced on Thursday evening in Kramerville.

Here are the top contenders in the consumer category.

Among domestic airlines, SAA took overall top honours followed by British Airways and Mango.

In the fast-growing cars category, Toyota made a great leap into the top slot, Volkswagen ousted Mercedes from the No 2 position and even though BMW boosted its numbers, it slipped from first to third position.

There was also a significant increase in category usage in the petrol station section. Engen was in the top spot, followed by BP and Shell.

Among convenience and grocery stores, Shoprite once again slotted in at No 1, with Pick n Pay remaining in second place. Woolworths' score dropped and it was pipped at the post by Spar to move into third place.

Fast food was another category to show a significant usage surge. South African consumers rated KFC their favourite, followed by Nando's and McDonald's/McCafe.

In retail banks, another fast-growing category, Absa holds its position in first place. Thanks to a successful "Steve" advertising campaign which boosted overall ratings, FNB knocked Standard Bank out of its No 2 slot to third position.

There was a shuffle among short-term insurers, with only Outsurance remaining from last year, and it has been pushed out of first to second place. Hollard jumped from fifth to first position, while Sanlam slotted into third place.

Among long-term insurers Old Mutual reigned, with Sanlam second and Avbob taking third place. Both insurance categories showed significant growth in usage.

There was also notable growth in the cellphone category - another fast-growing section. Nokia was tops among SA consumers, with BlackBerry second and Samsung in third position.

Telecoms service providers also showed significant growth in usage. MTN and Vodacom have swapped positions from last year, with Vodacom notching up into top spot. Cell C is still in third position, while 8ta has made its bow.

SA consumers love to eat out, and this is borne out by the significant growth recorded in the family sit-down restaurant category since 2011. Spur and Wimpy remained stable in first and second position respectively, while Ocean Basket ousted News Cafe from its No 3 slot.