Marketing Research Foundation SA

14/05/2026

South African consumers have been under sustained financial pressure for four years. The latest MAPS® data from the Marketing Research Foundation makes this visible — and plannable.

Here are five data points from the 2025 calendar year that every marketer and advertiser should understand:
📌 Loans taken in the past 12 months increased 58% year on year. Food is cited as the primary reason by 38% of borrowers.
📌 The proportion of consumers who save or invest has declined 46% since 2021.
📌 Monthly eating-out frequency is down 58% compared to 2021.
📌 47% of adults cite the cost of food and groceries as their primary current worry.
📌 Despite this, average personal income has grown from R5,103 in 2021 to R7,510 in 2025 — and 2025 showed early signs of relief as inflation and interest rates eased.

For brand and media strategists, the strategic question is not simply "are consumers under pressure?" The question is: which segments are recovering, which remain constrained, and how does that change where and how you communicate?

MAPS® tracks this at the level of province, area type, LSM, generation and gender — across 20,000 interviews per year.
That is the difference between assumption and evidence.

Contact us: https://mrfsa.org.za/










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Marketing Research Foundation SA | 748 followers on LinkedIn. Custodian and research repository for marketers and their advertising industry partners. | The Marketing Research Foundation is an independent non-profit company, acting as the custodian and repository of research expertise for marketers....

07/05/2026

The Marketing Research Foundation has released the latest edition of MAPS® — and for the first time, marketers, media planners and advertisers can trend five full calendar years of South African consumer behaviour in a single dataset.

That is not a small thing.

From Covid lockdowns in 2020, through inflation and energy crises, to the early recovery signals of 2025 — MAPS® has tracked how 45.69 million South African adults have changed, adapted and responded across every major disruption of the past five years.
For anyone making media, brand or business decisions in 2026, this longitudinal view changes what is possible in planning.

Here is what five years of continuous data allows you to do:
→ Distinguish structural behavioural shifts from temporary disruptions
→ Identify which category recoveries are real and which are cyclical
→ Build audience forecasts grounded in observed data, not assumption
→ Understand how the same consumer has changed across five distinct economic environments

As MRF CEO Johann Koster notes: "MAPS is a very powerful record of consumer behaviour through adversity and challenge. It is therefore a powerful tool to use in planning for the future."

MAPS® is available by subscription. The data is updated quarterly.

Contact us: https://mrfsa.org.za/










http://mrfsa.org.za/
https://www.facebook.com/MRFSouthAfrica
https://www.linkedin.com/company/mrfsa

Marketing Research Foundation SA | 744 followers on LinkedIn. Custodian and research repository for marketers and their advertising industry partners. | The Marketing Research Foundation is an independent non-profit company, acting as the custodian and repository of research expertise for marketers....

21/04/2026

The MRF and Plus 94 Research MAPS 22nd Edition Webinar is happening tomorrow — and if you work in media, marketing, or advertising, you want to be there.

When: Wednesday, 22 April 2026
Time: 9:00 – 10:30
Register at: ae41d13f-e0ee-483e-9afc-f6d5dda17256@54694a3e-ea56-4bf8-bd2c-83bf1d910d45" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/ae41d13f-e0ee-483e-9afc-f6d5dda17256@54694a3e-ea56-4bf8-bd2c-83bf1d910d45

The latest South African consumer intelligence. Straight from the source.

Register today, show up tomorrow.


Contact us: https://mrfsa.org.za/










http://mrfsa.org.za/
https://www.facebook.com/MRFSouthAfrica
https://www.linkedin.com/company/mrfsa

16/04/2026

Just under a week to go.

Join the MRF & Plus 94 Research MAPS 22nd Edition Webinar next Thursday and get direct access to the freshest South African consumer intelligence on the market.

When: Wednesday, 22 April 2026
Time: 9:00 – 10:30
Register at: ae41d13f-e0ee-483e-9afc-f6d5dda17256@54694a3e-ea56-4bf8-bd2c-83bf1d910d45" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/ae41d13f-e0ee-483e-9afc-f6d5dda17256@54694a3e-ea56-4bf8-bd2c-83bf1d910d45

100,000+ interviews. Internationally audited. Quarterly updated.

See you there.


Contact us: https://mrfsa.org.za/










http://mrfsa.org.za/
https://www.facebook.com/MRFSouthAfrica
https://www.linkedin.com/company/mrfsa

14/04/2026

South Africa's most comprehensive consumer intelligence dataset just got its latest update — and we're unpacking it live.

The Marketing Research Foundation (MRF) and Plus94 Research invite you to the MAPS® 22nd Edition Webinar.

When: Wednesday, 22 April 2026
Time: 9:00 – 10:30

Register at: ae41d13f-e0ee-483e-9afc-f6d5dda17256@54694a3e-ea56-4bf8-bd2c-83bf1d910d45" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/ae41d13f-e0ee-483e-9afc-f6d5dda17256@54694a3e-ea56-4bf8-bd2c-83bf1d910d45

13/04/2026

The relevance of local data!

Global data won't tell you that South Africans kept buying coffee through a 22% price spike.

It won't tell you that pizza beats burgers in the fast-food rankings — even after two major chains exited the market.

It won't tell you which life stage, income segment, or province is driving your next customer.

South Africa is a complex, diverse, fast-moving market — with its own consumer behaviour, its own economic pressures, and its own cultural nuances that no international survey will ever fully capture. Johann discusses why this is so important.

Watch the full conversation.

Relevant data for South Africans

08/04/2026

MAPS is the gold standard for South African consumer and market intelligence — and for good reason:

→ 100,000+ consumer interviews
→ Five years of continuous research data
→ Internationally audited for data integrity
→ Quarterly updates so your strategy never lags the market
→ Deep coverage of consumer behaviour, product usage, and audience profiles

Whether you're planning media, building a brand strategy, or targeting the right audience — this is the data that drives decisions.

Join us later this month to explore the latest insights and see exactly what the newest quarterly release reveals about South African consumers right now.

Full documentation, previous webinar recordings, and more at https://mrfsa.org.za/maps/

Tag a colleague in media, marketing, or advertising who needs to be in the room.



Contact us: https://mrfsa.org.za/










http://mrfsa.org.za/
https://www.facebook.com/MRFSouthAfrica
https://www.linkedin.com/company/mrfsa

Marketing Research Foundation SA | 739 followers on LinkedIn. Custodian and research repository for marketers and their advertising industry partners. | The Marketing Research Foundation is an independent non-profit company, acting as the custodian and repository of research expertise for marketers....

07/04/2026

Instant coffee prices jumped 22.3% and South Africans didn't flinch.

Despite coffee being the highest-inflating food or beverage item in South Africa in 2024 — beating even eggs — consumption grew nearly 8% year-on-year. Today, 22.7 million South Africans (almost half the adult population) drink coffee daily.

How do we know? MAPS.

The Marketing Research Foundation's MAPS survey — a quarterly study of over 20,000 South Africans — doesn't just tell you how many people drink coffee. It tells you everything a marketer or media planner needs to know:

→ Top brands by segment (Ricoffy outsells the next five brands combined)
→ Premium ground coffee drinkers: just 15% of the population, but nearly a quarter of all consumption
→ Pod consumers: wealthier, younger — and drinking almost 3 pods a day
→ Emerging formats: canned cold brew, on-the-go sachets — and the consumers driving them

For coffee brands, retailers, and the media owners trying to reach them — this is the difference between guessing and knowing.

In a category this resilient, precise targeting isn't a nice-to-have. It's your competitive edge.

Read the full analysis → https://www.citizen.co.za/business/what-is-brewing-in-sa-when-it-comes-to-coffee/

It seems that South African consumers cut down on some essentials to afford their morning cuppa as it has become so expensive.