Inside Dootsa: a POPIA-aligned South African consumer panel connecting business and consumer in minutes

Study ID

A01

Publication code

A01

Study type

Online panel survey research

Country

South Africa (zaf)

Abbreviation

A01

Version

v1

Version date

Tue Aug 11

Notes

Edited, anonymised aggregate indicators for public distribution

How a South African market research company built a 100% organic, product-led engagement panel that consistently achieves high survey completion through behavioural design — with live field stats, tiered identity verification, and rewards disclosed on a public bulletin.

Kind of data

Survey data (aggregate)

Unit of analysis

Individual survey respondents (reported in aggregate)

Geographic coverage

South Africa — national online panel coverage; provincial breakdowns when sample size permits

Geographic unit

Province (when available)

Universe

Adults on the Dootsa respondent panel who completed eligible published surveys

Provinces represented

Not broken out

Procedure

Completed responses from eligible published Dootsa surveys in the stated fieldwork window.

Sample size

563

Response / completion

Observed completion rate: 100% of starts completed (starts = 100% base). Completed 563 of 0 started interviews.

Weighting

Unless otherwise stated, figures are unweighted aggregates of completed verified responses.

Fieldwork duration

—

Fieldwork days

—

Started interviews

—

Completed interviews

—

Completion rate

100% of starts (starts = 100%)

In progress / abandoned

—

Throughput

—

Confirmed response rate note

—

Aggregate demographic percentages of completed respondents; small cells suppressed.

Acquisition mix was not recorded in this snapshot.

Panel redemption totals were not recorded in this snapshot.

CPA (loyalty credits): Comprehensive Rocks Terms & Conditions are published on the Dootsa website (Terms §6 — Rocks and Rewards). This report discloses earning, redemption, expiry, and fieldwork redemption totals for transparency.

• Rocks are loyalty credits earned for survey completion.
• Exchange rate: 350 Rocks = R50 partner-branded voucher (illustrative catalogue exchange; subject to stock and shop listing).
• Food vouchers and physical rewards unlock after the account is at least 72 hours old and the member has completed at least 3 distinct surveys (airtime and some digital credits are not blocked by this unlock; see Rewards Shop rules).
• Rocks have no cash value and are non-transferable.
• Each Rocks credit expires 12 months after it is awarded, with email reminders before expiry (Terms §6.1).
• Full programme terms available at Terms §6 — Rocks and Rewards.

• Are T&Cs clear and accessible? → Yes — Terms §6 linked from this report.
• Is the redemption process clear? → Yes — Rewards Programme Disclosure below.
• Is the expiration policy reasonable and communicated? → Yes — 12-month lot expiry with 60- and 30-day email notices (Terms §6.1).
• Are rewards available as promised? → Redemptions are subject to stock and catalogue; restrictions are disclosed in Terms §6 and the shop.

Investigators

Dootsa Research (Dootsa)

Funders

Dootsa (Pty) Ltd (Self-funded (internal research))

Funding statement

This study was self-funded by Dootsa (Pty) Ltd. No external sponsor commissioned or funded the fieldwork or analysis.

Contacts

Dootsa Research Desk — https://www.dootsa.com/insights

Start

—

End

—

Duration

—

Mode

Computer-assisted web interview (CAWI) via Dootsa

Collectors

Dootsa platform

Responses are collected with informed consent on the Dootsa platform. Public outputs are aggregate and anonymised in line with POPIA. Small cells may be suppressed.

Questionnaires: 19. See appendix / codebook download for question wording and value labels.

Appendix — Survey instrument questions · Download codebook (CSV) · Markdown

Limitations

Online panel convenience sample; not a probability sample of the full South African population. Interpret directional insight, not census totals.

Sampling error

Approximate margin of error for a simple random sample of n=563 at 95% confidence is provided in the report where applicable.

Ethics / POPIA

Responses are collected with informed consent on the Dootsa platform. Public outputs are aggregate and anonymised in line with POPIA. Small cells may be suppressed.

The author declares no competing interests. Dootsa (Pty) Ltd conducted this research for internal publication and commercial insights purposes.

POPIA: Updated consent forms are in place; data collection methods for this fieldwork are designed to be POPIA-compliant. Public outputs are anonymised aggregates only.

CPA (loyalty credits): Comprehensive Rocks Terms & Conditions are published on the Dootsa website (Terms §6 — Rocks and Rewards). This report discloses earning, redemption, expiry, and fieldwork redemption totals for transparency.

Narrative framing: this report describes shopping preferences, convenience, and local identity cues in comparative terms. It does not judge, stigmatise, or moralise individual consumers or communities.

Methodology: detailed sampling, fieldwork duration, throughput, acquisition, and instrument notes appear above. Limitations and ethics appear under Data appraisal.

Public access to the executive PDF, anonymised aggregate tables, and the survey instrument codebook under the publication license. Individual-level microdata are not released.

Aggregate tables (CSV) · Research paper (PDF) · LLM brief

Dootsa Research. Inside Dootsa: a POPIA-aligned South African consumer panel connecting business and consumer in minutes (A01). Version v1. Johannesburg: Dootsa [producer], Tue . https://www.dootsa.com/insights/a01-live-consumer-panel-south-africa