At times the size and shape of the consumer landscape across Africa can be confusing – especially when it comes to understanding what people mean by ‘middle class’ and what that means for the market opportunity. But there is one unassailable fact that is true now and will remain true through to 2050:
The consumer economy in Africa will be driven by young consumers.
In fact, they will be, on average, half the age of consumers in Europe and North America. The median age of the African consumers is rising slightly. But in 2050 the median age of consumers in Africa will still be less than 25 years old.
New consumers will not follow old marketing models.
So much is changing – high birth rates and rising life expectancy, growing incomes, transformative new technologies, greater urbanization all mean that future consumers will have radically different lifestyles and aspirations, whose transition may be both intense and unpredictable. To put this in context, consider the impact of a household getting electricity or a smartphone.
These new consumers provide considerable opportunities and intense challenges.
We know what many of the challenges are: more than 50 countries, mostly with difficult operating environments, and a strong rural/urban divide that effectively turns major cities into discrete markets. Market access is hard. Timing is critical.
We also know what the major opportunities look like: more than a billion fledgling consumers in 250 million households in a region whose economy is outpacing that of Europe, the US and Asia.
For brand owners, quality consumer insight is scarce and the brand landscape is mysterious
Aside the major operating challenges and macro opportunities, a big question is what kind of brand landscape exists. Quality data is scarce and consumer insight is patchy. At the same time, the brand landscape is more dynamic across Africa than anywhere else.
We have undertaken research with Every1Mobile to survey young consumers aged between 15 and 29 in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana. We wanted to identify exactly how they viewed brands, who they trust and how they think about brand loyalty, deals as well as various marketing channels. The results are fascinating and help us understand the future brand landscape and the marketing strategies that will drive success.
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