Student Marketing: Student spending behaviour - South Africa 2010
1. 15 things you
didn’t know about
Student Spending
Behaviour
Research Findings
April 2010
Executive Research Team:
Marc Kornberger (Student Village)
Ronen Aires (Student Village)
Mike Cant (UNISA)
Neels Bothma (UNISA)
2. Question Areas – Student Spend
• Money sources
• Spending & saving
• Categories of spend
• Credit
• Influencers
• Online shopping
• Mobile payment currencies
• What brands should know
3. •UNISA is one of the largest distance education institutions in the world with over 280
000 students and is classified as one of ten mega-universities in the world by
UNESCO
•The Department of Marketing and Retail Management within the College of Economic
and Management Sciences recognises the importance of the student and youth
markets to the future well-being of the country
•The partnership with Student Village brings together the academic and research
resources and expertise of UNISA with the leading role that Student Village plays in
the student community in South Africa
•The Department of Marketing and Retail Management is in the process of
establishing a centre of excellence which focuses on the student and youth markets.
•Additional research will be conducted on an ongoing basis in order to explore the
needs and roles of young women in SA society as well as to establish the
entrepreneurial capacity of our youth in general
•These research projects will be repeated in the future in order to gain deeper insight
into these topics and to see how they are changing from year to year (longitudinal
research)
4. About the Research
• Research conducted, Feb/March
2010
• 660 respondents across SA tertiary
institutions
• 18-24 age group
• Males and Female
• 80% research conducted in-the-
field, 20% online
• Demographic representative of SA
population
5. 15 Things You
Didn't Know About
Student Spending
7. Male >Female Average age 18-23
76% Black
10% Indian
9% White
4.5% Coloured
35% First Year of Study
27% Second Year
20% Third Year
37% Live with Family
29% Renting
24% at Campus Res
11. Spending in SA
Students
850,000
Student Individual
R 28.5 Avg Spend per year:
Billion p.a
R35,616
R 1.5 SA Individual
Trillion p.a Avg Spend per year:
SA R32,340
population
47 Mill
R 28,500,000,000
R 1,500,000,000,000
Ref: Bureau of Market Research
12. 87% from
their parents
26%
Part-time or
full-time work
11%
bursaries
16. Food and Groceries
20%
Alcoholic beverages
121%
Telephone Costs
15%
Petrol
150%
Gifts for friends
70%
Toiletries & Cosmetics
45%
Contraception
238%
17. 4.
Students from
separate ethnic
backgrounds spend
very differently
18. 1. Black students spend more on food & groceries, as
well as toiletries and cosmetics than any other group. They
buy 47% more fashion than white students every month.
2. Indian students spend more on entertainment, gifts,
snacking and eating out than any other group. They buy 68%
more on Lotto tickets than black students. They also purchase
more Bling and Jewelry than Black, Coloured and White
students combined
3. Coloured students spent the most on fashion than any other
group
4. White students buy more petrol and alcohol than Black,
Coloured and Indian students combined. They spend 6X
more on cigarettes than black students
34. 11.
More Students
would shop online
if they had the
resources
35. Shopping online
• A Quarter of all students have
ever bought something online. 16%
• Of those students that have not yet
shopped online, 84% would be
willing to shop online if they had the
resources
14%
11% 10% 9%
46. 15 things you didn’t know about Student
Spending Behaviour
1. There is no such thing as an AVERAGE STUDENT
2. Students are SPENDING more than you think
3. Guys are SPENDING 15% more than Girls
4. Students from separate ethnic backgrounds spend very differently
5. Students who RENT have more disposable income than students living at home
6. Students are serious convenience junkies
7. The Highest Value student purchase is clothing, shoes and accessories
8. Students save more than the average South African Household
9. Students are a cash orientated community
10. Friends recommendations are not the biggest INFLUENCER
11. More Students would shop online if they had the resources
12. Mobile payment currencies have some way to go in building student’s trust
13. Discounts = Loyalty
14. Money is a low ranking Motivator
15. Students would rather pay off debt than splurge their first pay cheque.
47. Research
www.studentmarketing.co.za
Blog – www.crammed.co.za
Find us @
Student Village
Marc Kornberger – marc@studentvillage.co.za
Ronen Aires – ronen@studentvillage.co.za
UNISA,
Dept of Marketing and Retail Management
Mike Cant - cantmc@unisa.ac.za
Neels Bothma - bothmch@unisa.ac.za
