Social media as a marketing communication strategy among independent food retailers in the City of Cape Town

Abstract

Independent food retailers face ongoing challenges to protect the viability of their stores as retail groups and franchise operations expand their footprint into areas previously dominated by the independent retailers. Unlike the corporate retail chains and franchise stores, which have resources at their disposal for marketing purposes, independent retailers are regarded as being resource scarce. It is possible that independent food retailers might be spending energy and financial resources to promote their businesses, whereas the opposite might be true. The objective of this study was to ascertain whether independent food retailers trading in the greater City of Cape Town area actively promote their stores, with particular focus on their relationship with social media as a communication channel to achieve this end. Current literature suggests that social media has become an essential communication contact point between businesses and consumers alike. Consumers use platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp to connect with friends and voice their views and opinions on individuals or businesses as perceived by them. There are a growing number of studies that have investigated the use of social media and social network platforms by small and medium businesses as a resource. However, currently there is a lack of available literature that focuses specifically on the use of social media by independent food retailers. This exploratory study therefore fills in the gap by investigating the extent to which these retailers use this medium as a marketing communication strategy. It also interrogates the enabling factors, the motivation to engage this medium, as well as the elements that retard the adoption and application of this channel as a promotional resource. Secondary data was collected through a review of the current literature investigating the adoption and use of social media as a promotional resource among small and medium businesses, including retailers. Primary data was collected using a semi-structured in-depth interview approach of a non-probability judgemental selected sample of eleven respondent retailers regarded as key informants capable of addressing the research questions. Facebook was found to be the predominant platform of choice and application among the respondents with minimal activity recorded on other platforms. The cost effectiveness, reach and accessibility of social media as a customer contact was found to enable the adoption and use of this medium as communication channel. The converse is true with regard to the perceived risk associated with social media engagement. Restricted resources relating to human, financial and technical capacity were found to influence the level of adoption negatively and use of social media as a communication channel as well. Notwithstanding these challenges, respondents were motivated to engage social media by the possibility of raising the visibility of their stores as individual brands. Building relationships with customers as a consequence of engaging them on social network platforms was an important consideration among the respondents, as this raised the possibility of benefiting through improved sales performance. This study provided confirmation that independent retailers do engage in online communication. It was able to describe the conditions that influence the adoption and application of this medium as a communication channel. It was able to illustrate the linkages behind some of the results with human behaviour models, such as the diffusion of innovation, technology acceptance model, and the theory of reasoned action. This study not only advances the understanding of the relationship independent food retailers have with social media as a communication strategy, it also makes recommendations that might be beneficial to other retailers in similar circumstances as well as direction for expanded future research.