What price cheap goods? Survivalists, informalists and competition in the township retail grocery trade
Loading...
Date
2019-08-31
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
PLAAS
Abstract
About 54% of South Africa’s township microenterprises trade in food or drink. More than two-thirds of these are grocery retail businesses in the form of spaza shops and smaller ‘house shops’. These are the predominant businesses within the ‘township economy’ and play an important role in food security, self-employment and community cohesion. In the last decade, the business of spaza shops (dedicated, signposted businesses with a range of foodstuffs and open five days per week or more) has undergone extensive change towards a new class of entrepreneurial traders – mostly foreign nationals. This change has meant that the sector has become increasingly controversial and associated with chauvinistic and xenophobic discourses targeting immigrants. While the nature, causes and extent of change in informal grocery retail markets have been noted by various authors over the past decade, there is as yet no comprehensive account of the changing nature of business dynamics and competitiveness in the sector.
Description
Spaza shops are important businesses within the township economy, contributing towards food
security, self-employment and community cohesion. In the last decade, the sector has undergone
extensive change with the emergence of a new class of entrepreneurial traders in the business –
mostly foreign nationals. This change has become increasingly controversial and associated with
chauvinistic and xenophobic discourses targeting immigrants. Yet on many levels – product range,
operational hours and pricing – these new spaza shops can offer a superior customer experience
than their South African predecessors. However, the oft-considered notion that their operators
represent ‘better entrepreneurs’ who outcompete undynamic South Africans is both misleading
and dangerous.
Keywords
Informal sector, Informal traders, Spaza shop, Township retail
Citation
Petersen, L., Thorogood, C., Charman, A., and Du Toit, A. 2019. “What Price Cheap Goods? Survivalists, informalists and competition in the township retail grocery trade.” Working Paper No. 59. Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa.