AMPS 2004 reveals limited growth in unbranded categories

AMPS 2004 contained 90 FMCG product categories, 32 of which carried branded questions for subscribers to SAARF Branded AMPS® (brand information is confidential to subscribers). There is also branded information for categories such as automotive (6-month), cellular phones, fast food outlets, financial institutions, insurance, retail stores (clothing), and retail stores (food, groceries, toiletries - 6-month).

Thirty-one FMCG unbranded product categories showed no significant movement in AMPS® 2004. Others showed the following significant changes:

- Beverages: declines in the usage of instant coffee, Rooibos tea, and ready-to-drink fruit juice.
- Foods: declines in the purchase of biscuits (not rusks or savoury), mealie meal, and rice, and declines in the usage of chocolate-coated bars.
- Personal Care: usage of facial cream/lotion, hair products (regular and combination shampoo), conditioner, styling gel, mousse, and hair spray is down.
- Household Products: purchase of washing powder is down.

New Lifestyle group added to SAARF Lifestyles

A tenth grouping, "Serious" has been added to SAARF Lifestyles. The SAARF Lifestyle section consists of questions on a range of activities, including: 24 questions on people's interest and participation in sport, and attendance of sporting events; 51 questions covering people's frequency of participation in lifestyle/leisure/ entertainment activities; 17 on music interest; and six on frequency of attending cultural events.

The individual activities are released on the AMPS® database, and, in addition, the SAARF Lifestyle groups, as determined through statistical analysis of the data, are available from the organisation.

In SAARF AMPS® 2004, the number of groups increased back to 10, having dropped to nine in AMPS® 2003B, but with a slight reshuffling. The SAARF Lifestyle groups are now as follows:

Group 1 - Good Living
Group 2 - Sports (a consolidation of "Niche Sports" and "Mainstream Sports")
Group 3 - Gamers
Group 4 - Traditional
Group 5 - Outdoor
Group 6 - Homebodies
Group 7 - Showgoers
Group 8 - Gardeners
Group 9 - Bars & Betters
Group 10 - Serious (new)