Frontline Research Group (FRG) recently conducted a retail census of Tanzania that gathered data on 99 000 retail outlets.
The census covered 73% of the population density of Tanzania with 96% of urban areas covered as well as 85% of peri-urban, 60% of rural 46% of deep rural areas covered too.
All these retail outlets are geomapped as the census was conducted using a walk-the-streets methodology, as this is highly effective for gathering data on traditional trade outlets. Having the outlets geomapped enables us to create geographic breaks and categories.
Key Imperatives
The outlets cover 23 different trade channels from Kitaa to small Duka to wholesalers and 15 different product categories were classified in these outlets. For example, the alcoholic beverage universe in Tanzania are estimated at 64 000 outlets, of which we have 42 000 outlets geo-mapped.
FRG are now able to inform businesses on some key business imperatives including the size of the universe by channel, the landscape of these channels, how the channels look and behave as well as what they sell.
Liesl Pearson, a Business Developer at FRG, says, “We can provide examples of case studies or conduct demonstrations to show how expanded distribution to opportunity outlets has yielded beyond-expectation returns.”
Opportunities for expansion
The emerging statistics provide much noteworthy information that may unlock new business opportunities.
“We are able to provide information on which channels predominate because we have data at a point level. In the alcoholic beverage industry, for example, we can compare outlets that sell on vs off premise and if we look at Mwanza city as another example, we can inform on x number of on premise establishments, of which the biggest was XYZ,” adds Liesl.
Seizing New Opportunities
This substantive and rich information gives tactical and strategic advantages over competitors, particularly when FRG provides their insights and direction.
Liesl says, “The best way to use our data is to overlap it with your own data. If you have your distribution data overlaid with the census data, we can begin showing the opportunity and the value the data can bring. We invite you to connect with us, and let us run a demonstration, with live datasets to unlock the potential that will drive growth for the business.”
Contact Liesl Pearson on tel +27 (0)86 999 0407 or email liesl.pearson@frontlineafrica.com