Clicks has won the award for the Best Loved Brand in the BrandZ Top 30 Most Valuable South African brands survey. The retail and pharmacy chain was the only brand in the top 30 to increase its value by 10% to US$407 million, in the process moving up five places to No. 24.

This is a particularly noteworthy achievement given the current macroeconomic conditions and the impact of Covid-19 which saw South Africa’s top 30 most valuable brands drop 20% in total value.  
 
The BrandZ Top 30 Most Valuable South African Brands ranking is an annual survey commissioned by WPP and conducted by brand equity research experts, Kantar. It is widely regarded as the most definitive study of brands in the country.  
 
Winning the Brand Love Award indicates that consumers have a real emotional bond with the brand, says the GenZ report. Brand love can’t be bought or manufactured although brands can create the conditions in which love can flourish by investing in innovation, promoting a higher purpose and delivering a consistently great experience. The benefit is that love helps to sustain the consumer’s relationship with a brand during economic downturns. 
 
The BrandZ report noted that Clicks has benefited from an intense focus on its home market and using a saturation strategy to build recognition with consumers. The brand scored particularly well on meaningfulness which indicates that it is meeting people’s needs and delivering a great shopping experience. Despite a tough environment in which consumers are less likely to be out shopping, the report noted that Clicks is still managing to find areas for growth.  
 
Clicks also scored the highest in terms of fair pricing, indexing 131 on this scale while 100 was the average. According to Kantar, a total of 76% of consumers now say they pay more attention to prices and 42% will visit multiple stores to ensure they get the best value. “Given the economic headwinds customers are facing, now more than ever they need to feel brands on their side and can be trusted to deliver to promises made,” says Rachel Wrigglesworth, chief commercial officer at Clicks. “The Clicks promise that ‘you pay less’ has never been more important and we continue to be committed to delivering that promise.”  
 
Winning the best loved brand category at a time when customers are feeling particularly vulnerable, she concludes, is a real honour.