
AI won’t replace market research. But it will expose weak strategy
Much of the broader conversation around AI in market research assumes conditions that do not consistently exist across many African markets, writes Soyinka Witness.
MARKETING RESEARCH
By our African Marketing Confederation News Team | 2024
Latest Marketing All Product Survey data for SA provides invaluable insights into consumer media, product consumption and spending shifts.
The Marketing Research Foundation of South Africa is hosting a webinar for the local marketing and advertising industry on 1 February to unpack the latest Marketing All Product Survey (MAPS) data released in December 2023.
Insights from the survey show that interesting consumer product consumption and spending patterns are emerging.
“The three continuous years of data – from July 2020 to June 2023 with over 60 000 respondents – has provided invaluable insights into consumer media, product consumption and spending patterns,” says Johann Koster, CEO of the Marketing Research Foundation.
The webinar will include MAPS demographics, the economic environment that South Africa finds itself in, the current media landscape, and consumer product consumption and spending patterns.
Some interesting findings in the data include TikTok growing by 531% over the past three years, while print media is showing some stability following sharp declines during the pandemic.
Photo by RF Studio from Pexels
Television has been severely affected by load shedding and the government’s digital-migration programme, and saw an overall decline of 22%. Some TV channels, however, bucked this trend and experienced growth during this challenging time.
Upsurge in online activities and e-commerce
There has been a continued upsurge in online activities and e-commerce, while social media and content-streaming services continue to show strong growth.
“The three-year period under review presented extraordinary challenges for consumers – ranging from the pandemic, economic and cost-of-living challenges, to load shedding and water-supply interruptions,” the Marketing Research Foundation says in a statement.
“These challenges forced consumers to adapt and change their behaviour, and the Marketing All Product Survey data provides invaluable insights into these behavioural shifts.
“While the average monthly spend on groceries and toiletries have remained fairly stable throughout this period, it should be seen in the context of rising inflation, which meant that the average grocery basket got smaller.
“Brand loyalty for groceries and toiletries have also declined, while cosmetics saw the opposite trend.”
Interested members of the marketing and advertising industry can join the webinar on 1 February here.

Much of the broader conversation around AI in market research assumes conditions that do not consistently exist across many African markets, writes Soyinka Witness.

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She comes to Havas as a business leader with more than 20 years of expertise across marketing, advertising, transformation and growth.