Roots survey reveals Ballito’s shopping, entertainment and money habits

Eighty percent of North Coast adults are weekly Courier readers – the highest readership of any Caxton community newspaper countrywide.

That number rises to 98% when taken over a monthly period, while 89% of people use the Courier to look for specials, more than any other advertising metric.

This is according to the Roots 8.1 community survey, the results of which were presented at a breakfast for Courier clients at Fiamma Grill last week. Roots is the country’s largest urban community survey and is held every three years in communities which are covered by the distribution of a Caxton newspaper. Ballito’s survey was made possible by The North Coast Courier in partnership with Caxton and Spark Media.

The majority of residents surveyed via the Borderless Access online platform were from the suburbs between Ballito and Tinley Manor. The results show a wide variety of community data, including demographic information, spending habits and entertainment choices.

Demographics and finance

North Coast suburbs skew slightly older than the countrywide community average and are significantly wealthier and better educated.

By generation breakdown, 27% of respondents were Gen Z, 39% Millennial, 18% Gen X and 16% Baby Boomers. More than 50% of residents reported a household income of over R35 000 per month, while 11% earn more than

R100 000 monthly – the highest level available.

By education level, 66% of residents have completed university or college tertiary studies, while a further 15% enjoyed post-graduate degrees. These are both far higher than the national average of 45 and 11%, respectively.

Service spend

By monthly financial outgoings, Ballito outperforms the national average in a series of costs that are typical of a wealthy community.

More than 50% of respondents pay for funeral cover, medical aid, life insurance and car insurance. By average, more Ballito residents pay for cell contracts, car instalments, home insurance, bonds, estate levies, security and gap cover than national communities.

The biggest difference from the average came in people paying for loadshedding solutions (29%), which was the highest mark of any survey countrywide.

Shopping, travel and entertainment

By portion of residential shopping – which includes everything from groceries, to clothing and appliances – 76% is done in store, with the remaining 24% online. Sixty per cent of shopping is done over the weekend.

Almost 70% of respondents had travelled in the past 12 months, while 7% had flown internationally. Over 90% of people had eaten takeaway in the past month, while 87% had eaten out.

As for gambling, 41% had visited a casino in the past three months while 40% said they had gambled online in the previous month – far lower than the national average of 53%.

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