Johannesburg
- South Africans seem to be shedding the recessionary mindset.
That
is the general trend emerging from the Sunday Times Top Brands
Survey. Commissioned by Avusa Media and conducted by TNS, the survey
interviewed 400 senior business people as well as 3 500 consumers
over the age of 18.
The
results show a significant rise in category usage from last year,
indicating a resurge of consumer optimism.
According
to Neil Higgs, senior adviser and head of innovation at TNS South
Africa, the company's consumer confidence measure paints a
relatively bullish picture of South African consumers in the first
quarter of the year, with a decided bias towards spending on luxury
items.
The
survey rated overall brand familiarity, user experience, non-user
perception and actual brand presence in the South African market in
38 consumer categories and 13 business sector categories.
The
winning brands were announced on Thursday evening in Kramerville.
Here
are the top contenders in the consumer category.
Among
domestic airlines, SAA took overall top honours followed by British
Airways and Mango.
In
the fast-growing cars category, Toyota made a great leap into the top
slot, Volkswagen ousted Mercedes from the No 2 position and even
though BMW boosted its numbers, it slipped from first to third
position.
There
was also a significant increase in category usage in the petrol
station section. Engen was in the top spot, followed by BP and
Shell.
Among
convenience and grocery stores, Shoprite once again slotted in at No
1, with Pick n Pay remaining in second place. Woolworths' score
dropped and it was pipped at the post by Spar to move into third
place.
Fast
food was another category to show a significant usage surge. South
African consumers rated KFC their favourite, followed by Nando's and
McDonald's/McCafe.
In
retail banks, another fast-growing category, Absa holds its position
in first place. Thanks to a successful "Steve" advertising
campaign which boosted overall ratings, FNB knocked Standard Bank out
of its No 2 slot to third position.
There
was a shuffle among short-term insurers, with only Outsurance
remaining from last year, and it has been pushed out of first to
second place. Hollard jumped from fifth to first position, while
Sanlam slotted into third place.
Among
long-term insurers Old Mutual reigned, with Sanlam second and Avbob
taking third place. Both insurance categories showed significant
growth in usage.
There
was also notable growth in the cellphone category - another
fast-growing section. Nokia was tops among SA consumers, with
BlackBerry second and Samsung in third position.
Telecoms
service providers also showed significant growth in usage. MTN and
Vodacom have swapped positions from last year, with Vodacom notching
up into top spot. Cell C is still in third position, while 8ta has
made its bow.
SA
consumers love to eat out, and this is borne out by the significant
growth recorded in the family sit-down restaurant category since
2011. Spur and Wimpy remained stable in first and second position
respectively, while Ocean Basket ousted News Cafe from its No 3
slot.
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Fin24
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