“While most retailers have a good sense of their relative size, the research conducted by TNS on behalf of The Times and Sowetan allows us to deliver far greater marketing insights to the industry. The survey allows retailers to assess how they rate in comparison to their competitors, as well as their ability to attract new customers,” says Trevor Ormerod, GM group sales and marketing at Times Media.
TNS explains that the position a retailer occupies on the annual Shopper Survey scoreboard is determined by an overall index score obtained from its customer survey that interrogates three key indicators amongst customers: brand awareness and familiarity; user ratings and non-user perceptions; and the size of a retailer brand in the market determined by asking consumers directly about which retailers they frequent, and how often. The sample population was representative of all race groups, with male and female participants being over 18 years old and 2,750 customers polled in both metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas, using random suburb sampling.
“The economic impact of the last year has definitely been felt by consumers and is evident across the Shopper Survey this year. However, this is not to say they have stopped spending entirely, but rather that they are making trade-offs and being savvier about their purchases,” says Nuala Harris-Morele, director at Kantar TNS.
“For example, while clothing stores (women’s, men’s, kids and baby) saw a decrease in category usage ranging from 1% to 3%, home accessories saw a 2% increase and bed stores saw a 4% increase. Within these categories, customers are opting for stores that provide credit facilities. The building or hardware stores category saw a 5% increase, and it was also the highest category shopped at last, in the shopper dynamics mobile survey. Perhaps this is how respondents are freeing some extra cash in hand for other spending.”
