It’s the busiest time of the year in Africa: the holiday season. With holiday season consumer spending up, retail sales are expected to pick up. It is the most challenging time for brands as they deploy marketing ideas to maximize return.
To help you boost sales this holiday season and beyond, we’ve unpacked the latest consumer trends and three key opportunities across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Be ready for the last-minute rush
Across markets, consumers are planning to shop for the holiday in December or later, it means that you should expect a last-minute rush to get the gifts and purchases.
Our research found that this year, 6 in 10 (59%) Africans will do their holiday shopping in December or later, up from 47% in 2018. This trend is sharpest in countries with slower economic growth, showing that consumers are becoming savvy shoppers, for example, 90% of South Africans said they will complete their holiday shopping in December or Later.
The last-minute rush can be a headache and a missed opportunity for marketers who are not prepared. To capitalize on this opportunity, marketers should provide a quick and efficient in-store shopping experience.
Here are a couple of ideas to help you be ready:
• Hit the right price point
• Intensify your sales and promotion close to December 20th
• Train your staff on products so you can provide recommendation and advice
• Add more cash registers to speed the payment process
Focus on offline marketing
Don’t get distracted with digital marketing, Africans are still shopping offline. Our research found that 6 in 10 (61%) consumers say they will spend over 60 percent of their holiday budget offline (in supermarkets, malls, and local markets), while 3 in 10 (34%) say they will spend over 60 percent of their budget online (mostly on mobile). Despite the benefits of online shopping, the reality is consumers are still going to stores during this holiday season.
Here are a couple of ideas to help you be ready:
• Set up your in-store advertising and promotion
• Enhance your product placement within the store
• Provide a great in-store experience to encourage word of mouth marketing
Focus on relevance and quality
Consumers are spending on the people they care about the most this holiday season. Our research shows that this holiday season is a close family (especially Kids) affair in Africa. In fact, 4 in 10 consumers (39 percent) said they will buy gifts for kids or family only in 2019 compared to 3 in 10 (29 percent) in 2018.
Here are a couple of ideas to help you be ready:
• Stock up on Toys & Games but also Food/Beverage and Clothing
• Focus on Food/Beverage products for entertainment and gatherings
• Focus on Clothing, Toys for children
It is not too late to adjust and boost your sales this holiday season, the majority of shoppers in Africa are still hunting for bargains, most likely until Christmas Eve.
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Written by: Patience Muyambo, Director of Research at KASI Insights
