Lockdown Restraints Continue in Early 2021

• 2021 dawned to a South Africa in the grips of a 2nd wave of Covid-19 infections, lockdown level 3, with alcohol banned once more. Shoppers refrained from panic buying and managed their purchases during the recent COVID19 pandemic developments. Some provinces appear to be moving past their pandemic peak, sparking hopes that restrictions will be relaxed at the President’s next address. However, travel to and from SA remains restricted due to fears of a higher transmission rate of the new Covid-19 variant
• 2020’s Black Friday sales were disappointingly low with many retailers reporting drop-offs at a total level due to lower foot traffic, despite higher online sales
• Grocery value growth, excl. Liquor & Tobacco, was 7.4% for formal retail across the total lockdown period, with 17.4% growth for the latest 4 weeks. Restaurant and curfew restrictions have resulted in shoppers spending more on in-home dining, particularly over Christmas week

– Black Friday week (w/e 29.11.2021) saw declines across most categories, particularly Ice Cream, however General Merchandise (GM) drove the highest declines. Cellphones, Airtime and Bedroom Accessories grew across both LSM groups in the Non-Food categories over Black Friday week
– All Grocery departments saw a week-on-week increase, notably those departments benefitting from having to stay at home, for example staples and indulgence categories
– Across the board, Food categories showed strong growth in Christmas week as consumers stayed home this Festive season. Wheat Flour, Rice and Oil showed strong growth, however other foods, such as Protein, also performed well
– Personal Care categories such as Vitamins, Medicinal, Wipes and Soaps & Sanitizer all showed strong growth at the beginning of January amid fears of new infections
– Consumers switched to both CSDs and Non-Alcoholic Beverages following the alcohol ban. Rumours of an impending ban drove sales for the w/e 06.12.2021, followed by declines as consumers depleated their stockpile
– Non-Alcoholic Beverages remain consistent when alcohol is available, but benefit by an average of 30% when it is banned. Beer remains the biggest segment

• A new white paper released by IRI US, highlights opportunities for CPG growth in 2021. Agility, strategic channel focus and shopper segmentation, focusing on lifestages, are called out as areas to pay attention to this year

Download full report HERE