The National South African Customer Satisfaction Index for 2016, compiled by Consulta, reported that South Africans’ fondness for fast food continued to rise, despite strained economic conditions.
According to the index, the fast food industry achieved an overall satisfaction score of 82,2, which was marginally up from 82 in 2015 and 80,5 in 2014.
The index offers impartial insights across a variety of South African industries by mixing a customer expectations index, perceived quality index and a perceived value index to achieve an overall result out of 100.
South Africa’s top brands in nine industries included in the satisfaction index are: fast food, life insurance, cellular handsets, full service restaurants, banking, supermarkets, short-term insurance, wireless internet providers and municipalities. The sample included 36 519 randomly selected customers.
Customers scored the life insurance industry an overall 79 in 2016, up significantly from 77,3 in 2015. Cellular handsets went from 77,2 in 2015 to 78,2.
Full service restaurants performed solidly with a score of 77,6, banking was stable with a score of 76,5, while supermarkets declined steadily from 81,4 in 2014, to 76,6 in 2015, and to 76,2 last year. Short-term insurance dipped from 77,9 in 2015 to 75,8 last year.
In the context of the SA market, a score under 70 generally indicates poor customer satisfaction.
“The pressure on South Africans’ disposable income has directly impacted many industries, but fast food remains strong,” said Consulta CEO Professor Adré Schreuder.
“During tough times, people spend less on semi-durable goods such as clothing and furniture, and more on the quick, feel-good experience of fast food. Fast food is also more convenient to people working longer hours.”
The overall satisfaction level of South Africans has dropped from a score of 79,3 to 72,1 in 2016 – a sign that people see goods and services as becoming more expensive compared to the value they receive. In spite of the lack of satisfaction, customer loyalty has increased from 65,2 to 69,9.
The index was also used to compare Mzansi against other countries such as the US, Singapore and South Korea.
South Africa’s customer expectation score of 79,2 compared well to the US’s 80,2 and 82,9 for South Korea. Singapore scored lower with 72,5.
