South Africans have a reputation for making a plan. They can turn almost any adversity into a punchline, a side hustle or a clever workaround. Rising fuel prices, higher grocery bills and the increasing cost of everyday living are just some of the pressures consumers have navigated this year. Yet, in the usual South African spirit, they adapted, and new data from Standard Bank’s UCount Rewards programme paints a picture of consumers becoming more resourceful and intentional about how they spend.
Rather than dramatically changing what they buy, many UCount members changed how they pay for it. When UCount Rewards analysed transaction and Rewards Points redemption trends in the 12 months to October, it found a 72% increase in the number of members redeeming Rewards Points for groceries.
The data suggests that consumers are increasingly using every available benefit to make their rands go further. While UCount members are still shopping for groceries just as often as they did a year ago, and buying roughly the same amount each time, the sharp increase in Reward Points being used to pay for groceries suggests that many households are looking for every opportunity to stretch their budgets. It also shows that consumers are placing greater value on programmes such as UCount that offer them savings on the things they already buy and use every day.
“Grocery spending remains a non-negotiable priority for consumers. What this data tells us is that our members are increasingly leveraging their rewards to help them offset that cost and many others. They are becoming increasingly strategic about how they stretch their budgets,” says Fayelizabeth Foster, Head of Loyalty and Rewards at Standard Bank.
The same pattern can be seen in fuel rewards. People are not necessarily cutting back on spending, but they are paying closer attention to how and where they spend to get the most value. While higher fuel prices pushed up overall fuel spend among UCount members, slightly fewer trips to the pump suggest consumers are becoming more deliberate about their fuel purchases.
“UCount Rewards members continue to redeem their Rewards Points for fuel, which remains the programme’s most popular redemption category by value. This shows the important role rewards can play in helping South Africans manage one of their biggest monthly expenses,” says Forster.
To help members cope with rising fuel costs, UCount Rewards reintroduced its triple fuel rewards offer, allowing members to earn up to R15* back in Rewards Points per litre of fuel at Astron Energy. Members responded by making greater use of the offer and adjusting their fuel spending to maximise the value available through the programme.
“Consumers are becoming more aware of the value available through rewards programmes. Our data suggests that such value has become a bigger consideration in purchasing decisions, especially when the savings can make a real difference to everyday household expenses,” says Forster.
The data also points to how quickly consumers are putting rewards to work. Approximately half of all UCount Rewards Points are redeemed within the first 10 days of being allocated to members, indicating that many customers are actively incorporating rewards into their monthly cash-flow planning.
Consumers Still Leave Room for Living Life Too
While groceries and fuel are emerging as key Rewards redemption categories, consumers are still trying to balance financial responsibility with quality of life. UCount data shows that spending on entertainment increased over the past year despite ongoing cost-of-living pressures, while fashion spend remained steady.
This suggests that even as consumers manage essential expenses carefully, they continue to make room in their budgets for experiences, social connections, wellbeing and everyday lifestyle purchases that matter to them.
This balancing act between necessity and normality is increasingly defining consumer behaviour. Whether it’s redeeming Rewards Points for groceries, seeking value in fuel purchases or finding smarter ways to manage monthly expenses, households are adapting and demonstrating remarkable resilience in the face of continued economic pressure. And for many, UCount Rewards has quietly become part of that strategy.
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