Food, fuel and electricity costs push South Africans into survival mode, survey finds
· Citizen
As the festive season looms, South Africans are cutting back on spending, delaying purchases, and aggressively hunting for bargains as rising food, fuel, and electricity costs continue to squeeze household budgets, a new consumer survey found.
The OneDayOnly survey of 2 410 online shoppers found that 88% of respondents are saving more than ever, while 80% now wait for sales and promotions before buying, highlighting the cost-of-living pressure consumers face ahead of the festive season.
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Grim picture
The findings paint a picture of increasingly cautious shoppers who are ditching impulse spending in favour of careful planning, price comparisons and discount hunting as every rand comes under greater scrutiny.
According to the survey, 76% of consumers compare prices across multiple platforms before buying, while 37% have switched retailers to find better deals, suggesting that value has overtaken brand loyalty as South Africans search for ways to stretch their budgets.
Food prices emerged as the biggest source of financial pressure, followed by fuel and electricity costs. Nearly half of respondents said they were financially worse off than they were a year ago.
Consumer scepticism
While 41% of respondents still shop during Black Friday sales, only 7% believe all Black Friday discounts are genuine, while 37% believe online specials are misleading.
“Before clicking ‘buy’, consumers are checking the price against other retailers, reading reviews, hunting for an extra discount code and asking whether the saving is actually as good as it looks. That is the psychological reality of Black Friday 2026,” said Laurian Venter, director at OneDayOnly.
“While 41% of South Africans still shop Black Friday every single year out of economic necessity, trust in retail hype is at an all-time low, with only 7% believing every discount is genuine.”
Disipline
The survey found that shoppers are becoming increasingly disciplined with their spending. Many are abandoning impulse purchases, waiting for sales and leaving items in online carts for days before deciding whether they are genuine necessities.
Online shopping has become mainstream, with 92% of respondents comfortable shopping online. However, the survey found that high delivery fees remain a major frustration, with 65% saying delivery costs reduce the perceived value of online deals.
Scams
Concerns about scams, counterfeit products and misleading product descriptions also continue to influence purchasing decisions, with trust, transparency and customer service ranking among the most important factors when choosing where to shop.
As consumers look for new ways to save, technology is increasingly becoming part of the solution. Almost 60% of respondents said they would use an AI-powered shopping assistant to compare prices and identify genuine bargains.
“The modern South African shopper is highly informed, incredibly strategic and simply too smart to be fooled by marketing noise,” said Venter.
“Interrogating every single rand is something to take immense pride in.”
Price conscious
The findings suggest South Africans are no longer simply spending less. Faced with rising living costs, they are becoming more disciplined, more sceptical and far more strategic about where every rand goes.