The primary hypothesis of this study was that low-income individuals purchase more packaged foods of lower healthiness and lower price compared to similar packaged foods of higher healthiness and higher price. The Nutrition Metric was chosen as the system to measure the nutritional value of foods because it is in the public domain and uses nutrients common to the Nutrition Facts panel; however, prior to use, the validity of the Nutrition Metric needed to be tested. The convergent validation of the Nutrition Metric was tested with four systems (NuVal, Guiding Stars, WXYfm, Go-Slow-Whoa) that met the study criteria. A sample of 600 foods that were purchased over a 104 week period that ended in November 2009 by 34,407 low-income households was drawn to achieve at least 168 items having scores available for each system. The Nutrition Metric had a positive correlation with all scoring systems for the 174 foods (P<0.01) that verified its validity as a tool to assess food healthiness. The Nutrition Metric was used to measure the healthiness of packaged products from the list of low-income food purchases (n=316). Products had a negative mean healthiness score of -0.88 ± 1.72 and low levels (<5% Daily Value) of dietary fiber, vitamin A and C, iron, and cholesterol. The majority of the products (n=305) did not have a nutrient claim on product packaging. The Nutrition Metric was a successful tool that can be utilized to assess the healthiness differences between products with and without nutrient claims purchased by low-income shoppers with counterpart products at the supermarket. Food price and healthiness differences were evaluated for the list of packaged products (n=305 (minus 11 single ingredient cooking staples)) commonly purchased by low-income shoppers to counterpart products of the same brand and package size with or without nutrient claims. Products with nutrient claims (n=77), on average, had higher healthiness scores and prices than products without claims (n=77) (P<0.01). Research and education initiatives that promote the selection of products with claims instead of products without claims are potential options to improve the diets of low-income consumers. / text

The objective of the study was to evaluate the impact of shopping mall developments on consumer behaviour in township areas. Local and international research indicated that shopping mall developments in low-income communities result in several benefits for consumers, such as convenient location; a larger variety of goods offered, lower prices than small retailers in the area and better quality of goods, amongst others. Studies also indicated that the choice of the preferred supermarket/shopping mall is not a rational decision based only on pricing, but on a compromise of satisfying economic, social and psychological needs. A two part mixed methodology, which employed both qualitative and quantitative methods, was adopted. This included semi-structured interviews with retail experts and interview-administered questionnaires with the primary retail shopper in the household. The sample population was Alexandra Township in Gauteng, South Africa. Findings revealed that low-income consumers prefer to shop from the closest shopping mall instead of small retailers/Spaza Shops because of the lower prices and a larger variety of goods offered. However, evidence suggested that consumers prefer to shop at a shopping mall that represents their desired lifestyle, therefore shopping mall developments in township areas, do not fulfil the social and aspirational needs of low-income consumers. For this reason, low-income consumers continue to purchase from malls in urban areas.</pCopyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / unrestricted

South African companies are said to be mining the so-called "Black Diamond", the emerging middle-class segment that is driving economic growth within the country (Mahajan, 2009:9). The focus on the emerging Middle Class in South Africa (SA) has left a knowledge gap on Low-Income consumers - even though they are still the largest consumer group in SA (Connecting with Survivors, 2014). The Unilever "Connecting with Survivors Report" (2014) highlights the fact that 70% of the SA Market earn less than R6000 per month, while together they have a spending power of R300 Billion per annum. According to Martin (2012:71), 5.8% of Low-Income Consumer Households (HH) spending is prioritised for the purchase of personal care products, while 64.2% of their HH income is prioritised for food and housing expenses. Given the trivial proportion allocated to personal care products, this research has been guided by the problem statement that Low-Income consumers are forced to make trade-offs, when purchasing personal care products, which fall outside their realm of affordability. The primary objective of this study was to investigate Low-Income consumers' buying behaviour in the Personal Care Industry in South Africa. The Theory of Buyer Behaviour was used as a theoretical framework to assist in the understanding of Low-Income consumer behaviour in the Personal Care industry. The phenomenological research paradigm was used in this study, utilising interviews to collect the data from respondents in the Western Cape Province. Inductive reasoning was practised to draw a conclusion on the investigation of Low-Income consumer buying behaviour in the personal care industry in South Africa. The findings from the study indicate that Low-Income consumers do indeed make trade-offs when personal care products fall outside their realm of affordability. The extent to which they do so varies, based on necessity. This research stands to contribute to the body of knowledge by narrowing the knowledge gap on the Low-Income Consumer market in South Africa with the focus on the Personal Care Industry, thereby allowing marketers to develop and implement effective marketing strategies.

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Neste trabalho buscou-se apresentar e analisar os resultados da utilização da Geração Distribuída (GD) Fotovoltaica pelo consumidor residencial (microgerador) e seus efeitos nas relações com a Distribuidora de energia elétrica nos âmbitos técnico, comercial e regulatório, baseados nas Resoluções Normativas 482 e 687 da ANEEL. As conclusões demonstraram haver um desequilíbrio nesta relação. Isto é, nem sempre o retorno financeiro se mostrou viável ao microgerador, tampouco interessante para a Distribuidora. Isto posto, o trabalho expõe uma modelagem tal para que a distribuidora passe a atuar de forma ativa na disseminação da GD. Por fim, modela-se um sistema que pretende aliar o potencial energético solar por parte do consumidor de baixa renda, em troca de fornecimento de energia elétrica limpa e renovável. / This work intended to present and assess the results of the application of Photovoltaic Distributed Generation (DG) by the residential consumer (microgenerator) and the effects on the relations with the distribution utility within the technical, commercial and regulatory, based on the Normative Resolutions 482 and 687 from ANEEL. The conclusions show an unbalance in this relation. Thus, the feasibility for the microgenerator is not assured nor it could interest the utility. That being said, the work presents a model so that the utility starts actively acting to disseminate the DG. Finally, a system is modeled intending to ally the solar power potential from the low-income consumer in exchange of clean and renewable power.

Neste trabalho buscou-se apresentar e analisar os resultados da utilização da Geração Distribuída (GD) Fotovoltaica pelo consumidor residencial (microgerador) e seus efeitos nas relações com a Distribuidora de energia elétrica nos âmbitos técnico, comercial e regulatório, baseados nas Resoluções Normativas 482 e 687 da ANEEL. As conclusões demonstraram haver um desequilíbrio nesta relação. Isto é, nem sempre o retorno financeiro se mostrou viável ao microgerador, tampouco interessante para a Distribuidora. Isto posto, o trabalho expõe uma modelagem tal para que a distribuidora passe a atuar de forma ativa na disseminação da GD. Por fim, modela-se um sistema que pretende aliar o potencial energético solar por parte do consumidor de baixa renda, em troca de fornecimento de energia elétrica limpa e renovável. / This work intended to present and assess the results of the application of Photovoltaic Distributed Generation (DG) by the residential consumer (microgenerator) and the effects on the relations with the distribution utility within the technical, commercial and regulatory, based on the Normative Resolutions 482 and 687 from ANEEL. The conclusions show an unbalance in this relation. Thus, the feasibility for the microgenerator is not assured nor it could interest the utility. That being said, the work presents a model so that the utility starts actively acting to disseminate the DG. Finally, a system is modeled intending to ally the solar power potential from the low-income consumer in exchange of clean and renewable power.