Soweto malls drive retail revolution
Aug 20 2008
Retail Wrap >>

In just three years Soweto has become home to four major shopping malls. Between them, Protea Gardens, Baramall, Jabulani and Maponya are notably changing consumer purchasing behaviour in the area. 

According to a Unisa Bureau of Market Research (BMR) study, 9 out of 10 Sowetans now purchase their consumer products from local retailers. 

"Whereas approximately 20 percent of household goods and services are purchased from businesses located outside Soweto, almost half of Sowetans’ purchases are from new or established retail malls or centres in Soweto," says Professor Deon Tustin, head of the BMR. 

"Due to many Sowetans still working outside Soweto, shoppers tend to rather engage in 'top-up' or 'fill-up' shopping outside Soweto," said Tustin adding that Sowetans showed a clear preference for weekend shopping at local retail malls. 

According to the study, Sowetans could now be classified as trolley or bulk shoppers due to the close proximity of retail outlets. Almost 70 percent of Sowetans who shopped at retail malls regarded themselves as bulk shoppers. 

Tustin says that new mall developments in Soweto have negatively impacted on smaller business. The study showed that only 10.4 percent and 7.2 percent of consumer purchases were made from home-based and streetfront shops respectively. 

Retail developments in Soweto have been on the rise following a 2003 City of Johannesburg study that revealed that Soweto's 4 million population had an annual spending power of about R10.5 billion. 

With further retail developments being planned as part of the Orlando eKhaya entertainment and business development project, Tustin says that the findings of the Unisa BMR base-line study can be expected to continue. 

However, he also warns against the risk of over-development in light of high unemployment in the area.

"While it was not a central part of our research we did find that there is still a lot of unemployment in Soweto. The new developments have not yet made a significant contribution to addressing this problem," he said. 

Adapted from Source: www.sagoodnews.co.za, 13 August 2008