Attitudes towards church retailing in Cape Town, South Africa

Bundwini, Nqobile

Attitudes towards church retailing in Cape Town, South Africa

Master Thesis

2016

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Marketing

Faculty

Faculty of Commerce

Abstract

Religion and commerce are two concepts which give rise to divergent views when associated with each other. Nevertheless, churches are increasingly making use of commercial methods such as marketing and retailing for a vast array of purposes including fundraising, connecting with their congregation and keeping abreast of social, technological and economical changes. As such, the Christian retail industry is a booming industry which cannot be ignored. It is common practice for businesses to investigate various aspects of their target consumers in order to align their efforts to meet the consumers' needs. Likewise, it is necessary that churches that engage in retailing conduct a thorough analysis of their target market. Furthermore, church retailers should consider the peculiar nature of their consumers, which may be influenced not only by their short-term, product-based needs but by their long-term, spiritual needs as well. This research is important as individuals who view the retailing of certain products by churches negatively are unlikely to purchase from church retailers, and may even be unlikely to consider attending the churches that retail those products. In addition, this research will provide church retailers with insight into their consumers, enabling them to structure their retailing efforts more effectively. This study investigates the attitudes of church members toward church retailing, as well as attitudes towards various types of church retail products. A series of 26 in-depth interviews were conducted for this study, resulting in each individual expressing antithetical attitudes towards the broad concept of church retailing, with more distinct positive and negative attitudes emerging following further enquiry about particular product types. Generally, attitudes were more positive towards products perceived to be more authentic with regards to the religious mission of the church, and more negative toward products they perceive to stray from it. Furthermore, attitudes towards church retailing were influenced by what individuals perceive to be the churches' reasons for retailing, as well as the individuals or communities benefiting from the proceeds thereof. The principle inference emerging from this study is that the attitudes of church retail consumers are essential as they largely influence their likelihood to purchase and, in turn, the success of church retailers.

Keywords

Marketing

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