The brands included in the survey were Debonairs‚ Chicken Licken‚ KFC‚ McDonald's and Steers based on their market share and geographic footprint.
The SAcsi survey says the prevalence of a cash-rich and time-poor phenomenon is spurred by rising affluence among SA's middle class and has led to a greater use of quick-service restaurants over formal eateries or preparing food at home.
There is no doubt that retailers are feeling the pinch in SA as disposable incomes come under pressure‚ but those in the quick-service restaurant segment are being affected to a lesser degree as consumers favour convenience and value over cost.
The SAcsi survey results in the fast food industry contained a surprise for analysts who have named three industry leaders. Debonairs and Chicken Licken both scored 3.2% above industry average and McDonald's scored 2.5% above industry average. Steers scored on par with the industry average‚ while KFC scored 3.7% below the industry average.
"Having three industry leaders simply indicates that there is very little differentiation between the fast food outlets in the eyes of their customers‚" said Adré Schreuder‚ founder and the chairman of SAcsi.
Relative to the international ACSI scores‚ SA's fast food industry ranked second in the world‚ with the USA serving as the international benchmark. US consumers gave their fast food industry a score of 80 out of 100. SA customer satisfaction scores were higher than the UK (74)‚ and Turkey (75) in this category. South African customers are more satisfied than those of McDonald's and Burger King in the US‚ and Starbucks in the UK.
According to Schreuder‚ while fast food stores had done well‚ South African consumers are becoming savvier and keep raising their expectations of brands, which implies that South African companies cannot afford to become complacent.
SAcsi is a national economic indicator of customer satisfaction in the quality of products and services available to household consumers in SA.
The data for this release was collected between February and March using both telephonic and web-based surveys.
Last year‚ a study from market research firm Analytix BI said despite increasing costs eating into local consumers' pockets‚ SA's appetite for fast food is growing steadily and the growth in the popularity of fast food was attributed to "deliberately" large portions at low prices that appeal to consumers' desire for value for money.
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