Factors determining the marketing of products to townships amongst SMEs within the retail sector

Abstract

The needs of the customers residing in townships are generally met by informal retailers operating spaza and tuck shops. These retailers sell personal and household products such as cooking oil, sugar, maize flour, snacks, soap, paraffin, candles, matches, disinfectants, cigarettes, and prepaid airtime for mobile phones. However, several factors determine the success and marketing of these products to townships by retailers. Therefore, this study sought to analyse the factors determining the marketing of products to townships amongst Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) within the retail sector. Thus, a literature review was conducted to collect information to identify factors determining the marketing of products to townships amongst SMEs within the retail sector using several databases. The year 2012 signaled the commencement of an organised search for publications that were pertinent to the topic. The researcher searched for journals published on township retail and marketing using buzzwords relevant to the current study. The findings of this study show that the following are marketing factors: product quality, product price, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and customer service. Non-marketing factors encompass competition, the transport system, road infrastructure, security, licensing and regulatory requirements, and business location. Therefore, retailers are asked to pay particular attention to these factors because they are crucial to marketing and achieving a competitive advantage.