A global survey conducted in May 2022 by MARCO has found that the Covid-19 pandemic ushered in a new era of online shopping, cashless payments, and the general growth of the digital ecosystem.
As more and more transactions move online, the importance of privacy and data protection is increasingly being recognised – but equally gaining concern is the collection, use, and sharing of personal information with third-parties without notice or consent of consumers.
Dubbed “MARCO Survey: Post-COVID-19 Consumption Behaviour II”, the survey–conducted from May to June–covers more countries and is a sequel to “MARCO Research: Post Covid Consumer Behaviour” carried out in April to May.
In Africa, the survey was conducted in Kenya, South Africa, Morocco, and Côte d’Ivoire. According to the survey, many people started buying online with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and will continue to do so in the future, with 87% of respondents from South Africa having done so and 99% reporting they will continue buying online.
“The pandemic’s e-commerce revolution has seen an unprecedented rise in cybercrime cases in which criminals have stolen information about inventory data, personal information of patients and customers, such as addresses and credit card details. It is therefore essential that businesses protect their clients’ personal data, but consumers also must play a role in safeguarding their data when making online purchases,” says Didier Lagae, founder and CEO of MARCO.
Surprisingly, the survey reveals that people are willing to share their personal information in exchange for some freebies. Sixty per cent of respondents in South Africa indicated that they would be open to trading their personal information for freebies. A key finding from the survey is that this is also a trend in developed countries. In the UK, for example, 68% of respondents were willing to share their personal information in exchange for freebies, which was higher than the percentage recorded in South Africa.
Surprisingly, in South Africa, this willingness to share personal data comes at a time when the country is currently in the one-year grace period for companies to be compliant with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). The POPIA applies to a broad range of data processing activities and it applies to both South African and foreign organisations that process personal data within South Africa. It provides legal protection of a person in instances where his or her personal information is collected, stored, used or communicated by another person or institution. In South Africa, the right to privacy is protected in terms of both our common law and in section 14 of the Constitution.
Linda Weaver, Chief Operations Officer, ACG/MARCO, says: “The enactment of this Act couldn’t have come at a better time. Organisations in South Africa face mounting pressure across investigations, cybersecurity, data risk and other threats associated with digitisation. Data privacy is a universal issue affecting citizens and the private sector across the globe. The private sector depends on consumer data and feedback to spur innovation and ensure more targeted and cost-effective marketing.”
Meanwhile, according to the MARCO survey, television and digital media are the most effective means of influencing South African consumers. Most of the respondents (71%) reported that TV advertising influenced them to buy one product over another. This was followed by online advertising (57%), Facebook and online articles (52%), and radio (51%). Print magazine or newspaper articles have the least influence over the choice of a product or brand instead of another (45%). In contrast, TV, online, and social media advertising do very little to influence the choices of British consumers. In the UK, only 38% and 31% of the respondents had their product or brand choice influenced by TV and online advertising respectively.
The survey also revealed that recommendations from influencers were a great determinant in the preference of one brand over another, with 65% of South Africans having bought something based on the recommendation of an influencer. In addition, 50% of South African consumers were influenced to buy a product or brand by outdoor advertising, while only 45% were influenced by advertisements on public transport. Conversely, influencers don’t play a big role in customer preference in the UK as only 41% of those surveyed reported having bought a brand or product based on the recommendation of an influencer.
It is also noteworthy that the pandemic has reduced the taste and demand of South African consumers when it comes to the purchase of second-hand products, with only 35% of the respondents reporting buying more second-hand products than before Covid-19.