The influence of selected demographic factors on the choice of marketing communication tools: Comparison of foreign and local spaza shop owners in South Africa

Orientation: The continued proliferation of foreign-owned spaza shops in South African townships presents intense competition between local and foreign owners, with evidence that foreign spaza shop owners are more likely to use marketing communication tools than local spaza shop owners. Research purpose: The main purpose of this study was to compare the influence of selected demographic variables (education, age of business and owner’s experience) on the choice of marketing communication tools between foreigners and locals who own spaza shops in South Africa. Motivation for the study: This study was motivated by a lack of insight in comparing the use of marketing communication tools between foreigners and local spaza shop owners. Research design, approach and method: A descriptive, cross-sectional comparative research design was adopted, where a convenience non-random sample of 236 spaza shops owners, both foreign and local ones in the Free State Province, was analysed using four-way analysis of variance. Main findings: The results of the study revealed that foreign spaza shop owners are more influenced by selected demographic factors to use marketing communication tools than South African spaza shop owners. Practical/managerial implications: Given that foreign owners are more influenced by demographic factors to use marketing communication tools to outperform their counterparts, the study highlights the need to support local spaza shop owners for continued sustainability. Contribution/value-add: This study added knowledge by exploring untested comparison of demographic variables influencing the use of marketing communication tools in spaza shop businesses