Shopping list development and use of advertisements' pre-store food-buying practices within different socio-economic status areas in South Africa.

Rodney Graeme Duffett,Crystal Foster

doi:10.1108/bfj-11-2016-0556

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether there is a difference in the development of shopping lists and use of advertisements as pre-store food-buying practices in terms of planned shopping by South African consumers who dwell in different socio-economic status (SES) areas. The paper also considers the influence of shopper and socio-demographic characteristics on pre-store food-buying practices in a developing country. A self-administered questionnaire was used to survey 1 200 consumers in retail stores in low, middle and high SES areas in South Africa. A generalised linear model was employed for the statistical analysis of pre-store food-buying practices within the SES area groups in a developing country. South African consumers that reside in high SES area displayed the largest of shopping list development, while consumers who dwell in low SES areas showed the highest incidence of advertisement usage. Several shopper and socio-demographic characteristics were also found to have an influence on pre-store food-buying practices in different SES areas in South Africa. A qualitative approach would offer a deeper understanding of consumers' pre-store food shopping predispositions as opposed to the quantitative approach, which was adopted for this study. A longitudinal design would also provide a more extensive representation of pre-store food shopping practices over a longer time frame than cross-sectional research. The survey was conducted on Saturdays, whereas consumers who shop during the week may have different shopping and socio-demographic characteristics. Astute food brands, marketers and grocery stores could use the findings of this study to assist with their marketing efforts that they direct at consumers in different SES areas in South Africa and other developing countries. The findings of this study may assist consumers in developing countries, especially those who reside in low SES areas, with food-buying strategies to reduce food costs, make wiser purchase decisions and reduce shopping. No study (to the best of the researchers' knowledge) has considered shopping list development and use of advertisements' pre-store food-buying practices in different SES areas in a developing country. Furthermore, there is a dearth of research analysing shopper and socio-demographic characteristics in relation to pre-store food-buying practices among different SES areas in developing and developed countries.

Highlights

South African consumers have experienced increasing debt levels over the past decade as a result of an enduring recession
The primary aims of this research are as follows: To ascertain whether there is a difference in the development of shopping lists and advertisements’ pre-store food-buying practices for planned shopping by consumers who shop in different Socio-economic status (SES) areas in South Africa; to determine whether shopper characteristics have an influence on the development of shopping lists and use of advertisements as pre-store food-buying practices among consumers shopping in different SES areas in South Africa; and to establish whether socio-demographic characteristics have an impact on the development of shopping lists and use advertisements as pre-store food-buying practices among consumers shopping in different SES areas in South Africa
The descriptive statistics pertaining to education level, employment status and household monthly income provide a satisfactory representation of the different SES areas

Summary

Introduction

South African consumers have experienced increasing debt levels over the past decade as a result of an enduring recession. One of the many consequences of this economic downturn has been a major increase in energy and transport, which, coupled with the current drought experienced Africa, means that food prices have markedly increased in South Africa (South African Reserve Bank, 2016). The Community Survey 2016 reported that one in five households did not have sufficient money to buy food in the past 12 months (Statistics South Africa, 2016a). Food-buying practices can be used by consumers to help to reduce the amount of money, which is spent on food, and increase funds that are available for other household expenses. Consumers should consistently employ effective purchasing strategies to protect themselves against uncertain economic times, especially since consumer credit facilities are less freely available owing to the National Credit Act (Hampson and McGoldrick, 2013; O’Haughey, 2016). The National Agricultural Marketing Council (2016) reports that South Africa has one of the highest inflation rates for food in comparison to other countries, with the cost of an urban food basket increasing by 16.3 per cent over a period of one year ( July 2015-July 2016)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion