Oral East AfricaNine out of ten women in Kenya are concerned about the high cost of living as price significantly alters their choices of top brands in the country.
In the latest release of the 4th edition of The Top 100 Most Loved Brands by Women in Kenya 91 percent of respondents surveyed expressed concerns that the high cost of living overshadowed other issues inhibiting their purchasing power.
Streaming service Netflix which cancelled it free mobile plan and cracked down on password sharing fell from position 22 to 77 in the review period.
On the flipside, Menengai the producer of affordable consumer goods including bar soap, detergents and cooking oil shot from the bottom 10 list of 2023 to the top 10 in 2024.
According to Pierrine Consulting, a market research firm, consumers have become more pragmatic and are more inclined to buy products within their expected price range for a given category.
Cost of basic commodities have been on a sharp increase over the last one year on state taxation, depreciating shilling and global impact of supply chain dislocation on energy imports and basic commodities.
Kenya’s consumer prices in January rose to 6.9 percent from 6.6 percent in December, largely on higher costs of school fees, electricity, clothing, financing and renewed upward pressure on foodstuffs.
The high cost of living is changing the Kenyan consumer especially women who make most retail decisions and are emerging as a significant and profitable consumer market.
Women influence 80 pc of brand choice
Chris Githaiga, Ipsos Kenya managing director, says women influence up to 80 per cent of all consumer purchases and by understanding the women’s market, brands can tap into a wider range of product categories and increase their market share.
Amid the economic pressure women consumers are dropping brand loyalty which is putting major brands at a competitive disadvantage leading to revenue loss, increased marketing and customer acquisition costs and negative word-of-mouth.
Despite the rising costs women are still loyal to some of the leading brands placing brand loyalty and product quality at the center of purchases, even as price become a major consideration.
Some of the leading brands that made top ten included M-Pesa, Safaricom, Equity Bank, Samsung, Ajab, Naivas, Airtel, KCB Bank, Menengai and Apple.
