South Africa is the largest, most diversified economy in Africa. It is also the most technologically advanced on the continent. Situated in Southern Africa, the country is known for its cultural diversity and has been inhabited by modern humans for at least 170,000 years. Afrikaans, Zulu, and Xhosa are the most widely spoken languages in the country.
South Africa is the only country in the world with three capital cities. Pretoria is the administrative capital, Cape Town is the seat of Parliament, and Bloemfontein is the judicial capital. The most populous city is Johannesburg, also known as ‘The City of Gold’, which is the economic centre of the nation and home to the continent’s largest stock exchange. Face-to-face market research mostly takes place in Johanessburg and Cape Town.
The majority of South Africa’s economy (63%) is based around services such as finance, real estate, business services as well as general government administration. 64% of the nation’s workforce is employed by various business services. Industry accounts for 25%, a figure showing continuous growth.
Manufacturing (including electric vehicles and other automobiles, petrochemicals, and raw metals) and mining (of platinum, chromium, manganese, gold and iron ore) are both experiencing a period of growth. South Africa’s mining industry in particular is benefiting from strong demand from Asian markets such as China, and recent increases in the price of precious metals driven by global uncertainties.
South Africa Standard Time UTC +2
Focus groups allow participants to combine experiences and perspectives to explore ideas in depth. Commonly used during creative and conceptual development, they help you understand your customers’ needs, perceptions, and beliefs.
In-depth interviews (IDIs), where a moderator interviews a single respondent, can be conducted face-to-face, online, or over the phone. They are ideal for B2B research and for exploring delicate subjects with consumers and hard-to-reach groups.
Ethnographic research is a qualitative research method in which the researchers observe participants using a product or service, or carrying out other activities, in their own environment, typically at work or at home.
An online bulletin board (OBB) is an online forum for qualitative market research that enables participants to log into to carry out research tasks or reply to questions asked by a moderator at their own pace, typically over a period of a few days.
A market research online community (MROC) is similar to an online bulletin board (OBB). However, unlike an OBB, on online community may be used to serve multiple purposes, and the community may remain active for weeks, months or even years.
User experience (UX) testing is a qualitative research methodology which involves directly observing and interviewing a participant using a product or service. It is widely used for testing new versions of apps and websites before they are launched.
Customer experience (CX) testing evaluates how customers interact with a product, service, or digital platform. It helps identify usability issues and overall satisfaction to improve the customer journey and ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience.
A video survey is a type of unmoderated qualitative research in which survey takers respond to a series of instructions or questions by making short videos using their smartphone, either in ‘selfie’ mode or to record an activity.
Vox pop research involves making recordings of people, usually members of the public, responding to questions. These clips are often used in research to illustrate public opinion on widely known topics, brands, or products.
Online surveys are a cost-effective research method with great flexibility in design. Automated data handling allows the results to be available quickly and many online surveys can be completed on smartphones, helping to improve the response rate.
CATI (computer-assisted telephone interviewing) leverages technology to reach those who aren’t online. CATI interviews follow an electronic script with built in routing and type in the respondent’s answers to each question as the interview proceeds.
CAPI (computer-assisted personal interviewing) is a form of face-to-face interviewing where the interviewer reads the survey questions from a tablet device and inputs the respondent’s answers directly to the device.
Our client wanted to conduct 30-minute online interviews with South African consumers who purchase clear spirits to understand their brand preferences and views about the brands and test out some marketing concepts that they were developing. We recruited and screened over 20 respondents and arranged interviews with them for our client.
We helped an international charity to conduct online focus groups in the UK, US, Italy, South Africa and Norway. The client wanted to test the messaging of their latest campaign materials and understand how the images they use affect people’s willingness to donate, and how donors view the people that the charity supports.
A South African payment platform wanted to talk to consumers in the UK who regularly send remittances to Africa and South Asia about the features that they expect and need from these platforms. We used our panel to recruit over 50 candidates and screened in a final 12 participants using an online questionnaire.
