SMART MOVES
BY JACLYN LOVELL
Navigating The Marketplace
With Redefine
C
hanges in the economic climate, mixed
with constant technological advances, can
make the ever-changing landscape of retail
property tricky to navigate. Understanding consumer
behaviour and changes in the market and keeping up
“Right now, it’s likely that middle- to lower-income
consumers are under more pressure than upperincome consumers. This means more discretionary
categories, like electronics and furniture, are
sacrif iced, before clothing and food purchases.
Redefine Properties Retail Analyst Antoinette
Coetzee explains that consumer behaviour is always in
flux, with factors like income and confidence impacting
it. Lower job creation, slower wage increases, higher
transport costs, increasing inflation and slower pace
of credit growth have all led to a decline in consumer
confidence in 2013. And lower consumer confidence
impacts retail spending.
When it comes to growth in the South African retail
market over the past few years, Coetzee says it feels
like it’s been a zero-sum game. “The market here is
relatively mature and, without significant job creation
or wide-scale real income growth, growth in consumer
spending looks likely to remain pedestrian.”
with local and global trends, are all a sure way to make
sure you find your way back to success.
With these growing consumer pressures, many
South Africans are changing their shopping behaviour.
This means changing to a cheaper brand, buying less
of a specific product, moving from one product to
a completely different product or spending less on
discretionary items.
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Commercial Handbook 2013
Further cutbacks are then likely to mean less spend on
items like clothes and entertainment. Food is the last
category to change,” says Coetzee.
However, she notes that retailers focusing on best
product, best price, or both, have gained market share
from competitors. “While category growth has been
benign, individual players have recorded some great
numbers. Increases come from doing a better job,
knowing who your customer is and gaining share of
their wallet.”
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