Welcome to this edition of INSIGHTS, a newsletter by Reveal.
In this week’s edition:
18–25s are over-indexing at The Fix, Shein and Bash
Bash leads the 25–35 segment with strong upward shopper carryover
Older shoppers still lag in online adoption despite youth-heavy gains
TRENDING
Youth fashion loyalty is shifting. Here’s who’s winning.
Whilst not the biggest spenders, those aged 18-25 are deeply engaged in fashion, and many South African retailers are appealing (or at least trying to appeal) to this market segment.
A strategic move for the retailers in targeting this category is to slowly move up the age bracket to appeal to an older audience as their current base matures (and their spending power increases).
This week, we reveal who is winning in the 18-25 bracket and how they are extending into the higher-earning 25-35 age group.
Spending Overperformance and Underperformance by Youth Age Group
The total spend over/under performance metric indicates how much more (or less) a specific age group spends with a retailer compared to their predicted share of overall spending power.
This answers the question: "Is this age group spending disproportionately more money with us?"
For example, a score of 150% means that this age group contributes 50% more revenue to the merchant than their total spending power share would suggest.
For ‘The Fix’, the 18-25 age group is a key driver of revenue for the retailer. It also translates into a strong performance in the older 25-35 age bracket.
However, it’s Bash leading the way with strong performance in the 25-35 segment, showing a strong performance amongst higher-earning shoppers.
Not-surprisingly, Shein is also attracting disproportionate revenue from the younger generation, yet both these online stores underperform significantly in the 35 and older categories, showing that there still exists some reluctance from these shoppers to buy online.
As the 18-25 age group grows older, e-commerce strategies will become more and more important to take full advantage of their increased spending power.
The data is already hinting at a shift underway. But the challenge is determining when to push harder into online retail.
READER SENTIMENT POLL: Which age group do you think drives the biggest shifts in fashion retail?
BITES
Korean Fried Chicken Heads to SA
Korean fried chicken giant Genesis BBQ Chicken is expanding into South Africa, marking its first move into Africa. Backed by Good Tree SA, the group plans multiple city launches as it targets one of the world’s most chicken-loving markets.
SA Gets Its First Shopper Marketing Course
Red & Yellow and Integer\Hotspot have teamed up to launch SA’s first accredited shopper marketing qualification. The course formalises a fast-growing discipline, giving marketers a practical, internationally aligned toolkit for influencing shopper behaviour.
American Convenience Takes Aim at SA Forecourts
US convenience giant Circle K is quietly building its local footprint, with five Gauteng stores already operational and two Cape Town sites on the way soon. Its partnership with Puma Energy could unlock access to more than 100 forecourts nationwide.
GO DEEPER
Want Deeper Insights in Your Industry?
Reveal is transforming how businesses understand and act on consumer behaviour through powerful, transaction-based insights.
By analysing billions of rands in real-world spend data from over 350,000 South Africans, Reveal uncovers the patterns, shifts, and opportunities that traditional research often misses.
Our intuitive dashboards and custom analytics empower retailers, brands, and agencies to make faster, data-driven decisions. Whether it’s
✅ spotting category winners,
✅ identifying high-value customers, or
✅ tracking real-time market changes.
For anyone needing a sharper lens on how South Africans actually shop, Reveal is the edge.
Keen to learn more? Book a meeting with data consultants.
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