South Africans Supporting Local Businesses For Post-Covid Recovery: Survey

Good news for South Africans running their own enterprises, especially at a time when the economy, and livelihoods, are under strain, is that a recent survey* has announced that South Africans are increasingly supporting local business. An overwhelming majority (99.5%) of those surveyed said they support local business and do so because they want to support the local economy and give back to the community in which they live. 

The survey was conducted by d6 Local Listings, the business directory on the d6 app that offers local businesses the chance to list their companies services directly to their immediate school community.

Small businesses play an integral role in job creation, poverty alleviation, service delivery and wealth creation. According to the National Small Business Chamber (NSBC), small businesses are key to unlocking economic opportunities and achieving inclusive growth and with the right support they have the potential to breathe new life into the South African economy. Nearly two thirds of all South African workers are employed by small businesses, and these enterprises play an integral role in job creation and wealth creation. It’s now, therefore, more important than ever to support local business as it can have a huge impact on our communities and ultimately our economy.

The good news is South Africans are doing just that.

Feedback from the Community

The survey also revealed that the rise in unique offerings and more personal customer service offered by local businesses is becoming increasingly important to the modern consumer – and local businesses are holding up their end of the relationship it seems, as 99.5% of people surveyed said that they had received good or excellent service from their chosen local business.

Other interesting findings that emerged from this survey show that South African consumers predominantly select the businesses that they support based on recommendations and word of mouth from family and friends, followed by advertising and social media marketing.

“Trust is a key factor for supporting a business according to the survey results,” says Jane Paton, product owner of the d6 Local Listings directory. “Nearly all the survey respondents (94%) replied that trust in their local business is extremely important to them.”

One of the top three reasons for selecting a local business was said to be based on endorsement by the local school community – with almost 90% of people saying they are highly likely to choose or prefer a business that is part of their local community or part of their child’s school community.

Online and mobile local listings and business directories came in just behind this as a reason for selecting the business supported, followed by referrals from other businesses and finally, influencer recommendations.

Supporting local business is a trend that is expected to continue, and d6 Local Listings is tapping into, and backing this drive to support local by providing an innovative directory for small businesses to affordably get listed as a trusted business within their community.

“d6 Local Listings is exclusive to the d6 Connect app, the school communication platform which is used by more than 1000 schools across South Africa to connect to their school communities of students, parents, teachers, stakeholders and suppliers,” explains Paton. “With the ability to target audiences in specific areas and leverage the trust already established within the school community network, Local Listings provides consumers with a list of registered and trusted services in the community at their fingertips.”

How does d6 Local Listings work?

Local Listings can be found in the “More” menu at the bottom right hand corner of the d6 Connect app, advises Paton. “There are a variety of categories to choose from, including accommodation, automotive, child specific, health and beauty, home services, IT services, legal and financial, medical, pets and security, as well as sub-categories. The business owner then selects the school, or multiple schools, where the business needs to be listed and creates the listing. d6 Connect users can then click on the name of the business for more information and contact them directly from the listing itself. There is a monthly fee of only R90 (R103.50 incl. VAT) per school.”

“South African communities are increasingly supporting their local businesses and it is a movement that we feel strongly about – it is so important to ensure the survival of local businesses. Covid-19 had a devastating effect on many people, and we hope that our Local Listings service will assist businesses to gain awareness in their area,” concludes Paton.  “We also hope it will encourage people to support their local businesses on an ongoing basis.”

For more information on d6 Local Listings, please visit https://locallistings.d6.co.za/ or follow the d6 group on Twitter @d6groupSA, Facebook @d6groupsa and Instagram @_d6Group