By: Natasha Archary
The latest ConsumerSignals report by Deloitte shows consumers displaying more positive sentiments against the backdrop of the high cost of living.
Rodger George, Consumer Industry Leader at Deloitte Africa, joins Gugulethu Mfuphi on Kaya Biz to share insight from the report.
“We’ve been running this survey from April 2020, across 20 countries to get a sense of customer sentiment from the Covid period, and how behaviour shifted from those days to where customers find themselves now.
Consumers are facing a lot of challenges, but there seems to be some resilience coming through, but having said that there is a lot of anxiety coming through and consumers are going to make choices about where to spend money and when.
Looking at the Anxiety Net Index on the survey which is measured on a month-to-month basis, South African consumers are still very anxious.
Currently 54% of consumers are showing signs of high anxiety, particularly around financial wellbeing, whereas in the previous year that number was in excess around 60%.
What’s concerning is that 60% of people are saying they don’t have any money left over at the end of the month, and two third of the people are concerned about the level of savings, which impacts their capacity to absorb future financial shocks.”
Despite this, Rodger says there is still positive sentiment to still enjoy Christmas and spend over the season.
Some of the key findings from the report are:
- Affordability remains the most significant barrier to leisure travel in South Africa.
- Consumers are still engaging in cost saving behaviours as cost of living continues to rise.
- 47% of respondents made sure to avoid waste by not buying too much food.
- While 44% are still opting to prepare meals at home over takeout meals.
- Consumers in all income groups are expecting to spend more on housing, groceries, entertainment, leisure and travel and less on everyday household goods and education.
- It is clear across all income groups that essential items take the bulk of the wallet. It is concerning to see that education contributes the least share of the wallet.
Listen to the conversation on Kaya Biz:
Also read: Festive gifting trends: What are South Africans splurging on this year?
