Spaza News’ target audience is mainly township-based adults with very little or no formal knowledge of business management. They have a basic level of education (most have passed Grade 8 and above), and many of them were previously employed and turned to the spaza shop market after losing their formal employment. Their businesses are cash businesses, and they use the spazas to support their families. They do not have business bank accounts and where they do, it is often personal accounts as opposed to business accounts.

Spaza shops owners are generally aged between 25 and 49 years old. One in three spaza shop owners is a woman. And depending on where they operate, they buy from local wholesalers or from formal shops in the bigger centres. The majority of spaza shops turn over between R3 000 per month and R10 000 per month.

According to a recent Gemini survey, low-income spenders (who live in areas where spaza shops and other informal retailers are located) believe that spaza shops are inexpensive compared to other convenience stores such as garage shops. "This could be because spaza shops typically buy from cash and carries and only add on a small profit margin," says the Gemini Consulting report.