Some of Grahamstown’s businesses have managed to keep their tills ringing at a time when consumers are choosing to forego luxury items just so that they can afford the basics.
Some of Grahamstown’s businesses have managed to keep their tills ringing at a time when consumers are choosing to forego luxury items just so that they can afford the basics.
“You have certain things that need to be paid first such as the bond, electricity, property rates and food,” said Reg Rumney, the director of the Centre of Economics Journalism in Africa.
According to Dawn Long, owner of Reddits Books and Coffee, people don’t eat out as much as they used to before the economic crisis.
Long relies on supermarkets for most of her stock so when supermarkets push up their prices, she has to adjust the prices on her menu.
“My costs have increased from an average of R150 and R200 to between R500 and R600 daily,” said Long.“We had to move premises for cheaper rent,” she added.
A significant disadvantage for her as a coffee shop owner has been that she sometimes has to bear some of the costs of the price increases from her suppliers as she cannot afford to adjust her menu prices each time supermarkets increase theirs.
“Supply is a problem across the board,” said Ross Shelton of Pick n Pay. This sometimes leaves supermarkets unable to supply as much as they used to with a limited choice but Shelton believes that “it is important to understand your consumer”.
“We have specials that are geared towards what the consumer needs, so we will put foods like rice and oil on special a lot more because that is the stuff that every household needs,” he added.
Dianne Coetzee of Tip Top Butchery has noticed the biggest change in the past two years with people buying cheaper cuts of meat, but added that “people still spend when there is money, and then buy basics throughout the month.”
Businesses have to try and keep consumers coming in even when the economy is on a downward turn. “We are the anchor tenant so we have enough foot traffic to survive, also, our location is central,” Shelton added.
