Arnould

1
Chapter
6
Economic and Social Structures
2
Economic and Social Structures
Social Class
Age
Religion
Ethnicity
Region
Gender
3
Class Variation in Consumer Behavior

• Social classes
• groupings across society, broadly recognized by
  members of that society, involving inequalities
  or differences in such areas as power, authority,
  wealth, income, prestige, working conditions,
  lifestyles, and culture
• Social class hierarchy
• combination of income, education occupation, and
  residential location whereby some individuals
  have higher status than others

4
How Social Class is Determined

• Income Differences
• Purchasing power parity
• Relative income
• rating of purchasing power as compared to others
  of similar occupation or lifestyle
• Education

5
Effects of Social Class on Consumption

• Social class is a variable for segmenting product
  markets that satisfy needs related to lifestyle
  expressions
• Brand loyalty tends to decrease with higher
  social class

6
Consumption Patterns and Class-Based Segments

• Three main class-based segments
• Upper Class
• Old Money
• Nouveau Riche
• Get Set
• Middle Class
• Working-Class and Under-Class

7
Upper Class Segments

• Old Money
• upper-upper class of capitalism, distinguishing
  themselves through philanthropy
• Nouveau Riche
• combine qualities of middle class with those of
  upper class, and associated with conspicuous
  consumption and display of status symbols
• Get Set
• upper middle class with increasing ability to
  purchase goods and service normally reserved for
  upper class groups

8
Middle Class Segments

• U.S. middle class
• households with income between 37,000 and
  100,000
• Trends
• Economic boom
• Increase in discretionary income
• income above that required to meet basic consumer
  needs

9
Consumption Patterns and Class-Based Segments

• Upward mobility
• a move to a higher social class, usually
  associated with educational or occupational
  achievement
• Downward mobility
• a move to a lower social class
• Status float
• fashion trends starting in lower class and and
  spreading upwards

10
Ethnicity

• Ethnicity
• frequent association and identification with
  common national or cultural origins of a subgroup
  found within the larger society
• Felt ethnicity
• an individuals perception of him or herself as a
  member of an ethnic group

11
Ethnicity (continued)

• Situational ethnicity
• when expressions of ethnicity vary with social
  context
• Acculturation
• changes in knowledge, beliefs, values, and
  behaviors when an individual member of an ethnic
  group comes into prolonged contact with a
  dominant culture

12
Ethnicity (continued)

• Assimilation
• process of interpretation and fusion in which
  persons and groups acquire memories, sentiments
  and attitudes of other persons or groups and, by
  sharing their experience and history, are
  incorporated with them in a common culture life
• Over acculturating
• exaggerated consumption of presumably mainstream
  products

13
Other Structural Segments- AGE

• Life cycle
• movement from birth to death and beyond
• Age Cohorts
• groups of people who have grown up during
  specific time periods, exhibit similarities in
  experiences, memories and symbols that translate
  into similar preference patterns
• Children
• Millennials - age 4-12
• Generation Y - age 10-19
• Teens Generation X - market savvy and involved
  in consumer culture
• Boomers fastest growing age segment comprising
  under 15 of total population, but controlling
  50 of discretionary income and 75 of nations
  assets

14
AGE

• Life cycle stages
• Consumer socialization
• Consumption choices
• Rites of passage
• Chronological vs. psychological age
• Age cohorts and shared values

15
GENDER

• Gender
• sex-based divisions of humanity and the norms,
  values, and beliefs associated with gender roles
• Gender roles
• learned early and play a formative role in
  personality development and self-identity
• masculine vs. feminine orientations
• Gender-based needs, segmentation, and targeting

16
RELIGION

• Religion
• a unified system of beliefs and practices
  relative to the sacred
• Religiosity
• the degree to which beliefs in specific religious
  values and ideals are held and practiced by
  consumers
• In U.S. 45 of Americans claim to worship at
  church globally, this is second only to Ireland
• Religious segments place high value on
  information seeking and exposure, educational
  attainment within community, but less value on
  brands