MKTG 303 |

Consumer Behaviour

Semester 2 2022
 Copyright @2022 The University of Auckland All Rights Reserved

The content and delivery of lecture (including online) in this course are
protected by copyright.

Material belonging to others may have been used in these lectures and copied
by and solely for the education purposes of the University under license.

You may record the lectures for the purposes of private study or research, but
you may not upload onto any third party site, make a further copy or sell, alter
or further reproduce or distribute any part of these lectures to any other person.

Failure to comply with the terms of this warning may expose you to legal action
for copyright infringement by the copyright owner and/or disciplinary action by
the University.
 MKTG303 WEEK 5

DEMOGRAPHICS, PSYCHOGRAPHICS, AND SOCIAL

CLASS
1. Demographics
&
Psychographics
 Concept objectives
• To understand demographics and how they are used by
marketers
• Overview 2 key demographics: age (generations), gender

• Understand psychographics

• To illustrate how psychographics (lifestyle) is used by

marketers
DEMOGRAPHICS
Definition: The general measurement and description of a
population’s characteristics that can be placed into cohorts
(groups) (Quester et al., 2014).

e.g. age, income, birth rate, gender, family structure, ethnicity.

• It categorises the population into basic measured groups of

people

• With the increased sophistication of databases, it is now

considered highly accurate and useful.
AGE COHORTS: LIFE
PHASES
• One of the most basic ways of using demographics in
segmentation – because people of the same age have the same
patterns of needs

• What products did you need 4 years ago compared to what

you need now?

• What products will you need 4 years from now?

AGE: GENERATIONAL
COHORTS
The assumption that people in one age group/cohort may behave in a
distinctive way than people in another cohort.

Marketers and other disciplines group people according to age categories.

• Shared significant global events.
• Similar values and attitudes.
• Overall, similar life experiences in a given period of time in history.
GREY (SILENT) MARKET - CHARACTERISTICS

World war generation:

• 77 plus
• Lived through the great depression, two world wars, and the fight for
‘democracy’
• Childhood strongly colored by attitudes of 1930s (depression), WW1, and WWII
• Often neglected in advertising now except for age-specific goods (e.g. –
retirement & funeral plans)

Unique behaviours:
• Their difficult childhoods make them ‘tougher’
• Saving patterns – save for future
• Little interaction with technology until recently
BABY BOOMERS - CHARACTERISTICS

Post-war generation:
• Age 58 – 76 years
• Post-war boomers when the economy was growing and there was less
competition for work

Unique behaviours:
• Loyal to brands – grew up when advertising was new and less products but more
enthusiasm to buy them
• Optimistic due to economic opportunities and lack of knowledge of climate
change, economic competition, etc.
• Money regarded as a resource to spend rather than save
GENERATION X - CHARACTERISTICS
MTV generation/latch key kids:
• Ages 42-57
• Latch key kids – grew up with highest parent divorce rates
• 1980s world recession
• Critical of authority – punk era; rap music (MTV gen)

Unique behaviours:
• Perceive themselves as independent
• Opposite frame of reference from ‘Boomers’
• Computer literate
• Question authority/cynical
• Demand explanations
GEN Y (MILLENNIALS) - CHARACTERISTICS

Attention/Next generation:
• Ages 26-41
• Grew up with blend of traditional and social media
• Helicopter parents and structured parenting
• Embrace consumer culture
• Trust authority & make ‘conventional’ choices
• Culturally liberal; value experiences

Unique behaviours:
• Sense of entitlement (or told they are)
• Social groups/status important
GEN Z- CHARACTERISTICS
I-generation/digital natives:
• Ages 10-25
• Digital natives/ Tweens/Gen I
• Information is at their fingertips
• Income as means to an end – work is performed just for financial reasons
• Concerned with environment, future, health/diversity is commonplace

Unique behaviours:
• Anti-consumption
• Techno-empowered
• Anti-authority: independent – children of gen x
ADVERTISING TO GENERATIONAL COHORTS
Silent/grey market Baby boomers

Gen X Millennials Gen Z

DEMOGRAPHICS: GENDER
• Another core demographic used by marketers – historically ‘gender’ binary, now
gender fluid

• Gender vs biological sex

• People have differing opinions of what gender roles entail

• In some societies roles are ascribed.
• In western societies genders are now seen as socially constructed
identifications
• Older generations are more highly gender stereotyped compared to younger
generations

• Think about the trends we see in the market today.

• Men's’ cosmetics; men’s crop tops; genderless fashion
• Gender-neutral advertisements
• Gender fluid brands
• Gender inclusive advertising
 1950s – gender 2000s – ads embracing empowered 2010+s – gender
stereotypical ads femininity/anti-masculinity fluid ads
IN SUMMARY - WHY SHOULD MARKETERS
CARE?
• They form the basic core of segmentation strategy – you can categorize
people into groups based on demographic measures

• Demographics can be used to:

• Identify different segments
• Identify new trends/growing populations
• Select media that is more likely to reach a defined target group
PSYCHOGRAPHICS
• Psychographics are the tools used to quantify people’s lifestyles (how the
individual chooses to live).

• Psychographics segment consumers based on psychological and sociological

dimensions.

• Refer to a pattern of consumption reflecting an individual’s choice of

how one spends their time, money, and energy.

• Are a function of inherent individual factors that have been shaped through
social interaction as the individual moves through their life cycle.
DEMOGRAPHICS VS PSYCHOGRAPHICS
Demographics Psychographics
Age Personality traits
Gender Activities
Occupation Attitudes
Location Values
Education Interests
Marital status Beliefs

Different than demographics (measure descriptions) psychographics are psychological

descriptions
LIFESTYLES
Lifestyles help you build robust consumer profiles - they  help you craft the
right message and put it in the right place.

1. Interests
Interests are inclinations and affinities.

2. Activities
Activities are what people do—things like skiing, reading, fishing,
weightlifting.

3. Opinions
Everyone has opinions. When people have similar opinions, they tend to
form tribes.
LIFESTYLES EXAMPLE
Marketers position a product within a lifestyle – extreme sports
WHY SHOULD MARKETERS CARE?

Lifestyles are a major factor influencing the consumer decision-making

process.

Knowledge about groups of people who choose similar lifestyles may help
marketers to:

• Segment markets more accurately – communicate to demographics with

more targeted ads
• Develop new products tailored to lifestyles
• Market social and political issues – beyond ‘how’ people shop
2. Social Class
CONCEPT OBJECTIVES
• To understand the factors contributing to social class

• To discuss the use of products as markers of social class and mobility

• To explore how social class impacts on the consumer’s shopping

experience
SOCIAL CLASS
Social class: Hierarchical division of a society into relatively permanent
and homogeneous groups with respect to attitudes, values and
lifestyles (Quester et al., 2014)

It is not just about how much money you have, but how you use that
money and your status in society

Societal rank and status

• A person’s position relative to others on dimensions valued by society
• Prestige attached to one's position or ‘standing’ in society
SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
The arrangement of any social group or society into a hierarchy of positions
that are unequal with regard to the following factors:
• Occupation
• Education
• Ownership
• Income
VEBLEN’S CONSPICUOUS
CONSUMPTION (1899)

Theory of the leisure class

Use conspicuous consumption of marketers: Indicates current social class, or class

aspired to be

Conspicuous consumption: The consumption of symbolic objects to display status to

others

• The desire to provide prominent evidence of the ability to afford luxury goods

• Many fashion items of the past were deliberately designed to be impractical, as a

way of separating oneself from the working class

• Conspicuous waste = evidence of abundance

• More recently, conspicuous consumption may be more prominent in lower and

middle classes, or may be reducing altogether
TARGETING THE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE

Lower classes
• Less income, but still require necessities
• Desire to appear successful, aspirational
purchasing

Upper classes
• Higher income and more diverse tastes
• three types of attitudes towards buying luxury
items:
1. Luxury = quality: enduring value
2. Luxury = reward: I’ve made it, demonstrative
purposes
3. Luxury = indulgence: emotional approach,
express individuality
UPPER CLASS
Upper Class Appeals
• Pricey, exclusive items, quality, indulgence, reward, status
• Smaller boutiques
• Spacious design with one-off pieces on display
• Subdued lighting, plush furnishings, etc.
LOWER CLASS
Lower Class Appeals
• Price differentiation and bulk buying
• Large, open-plan shop design
• Floor to ceiling bulk items on display
• Bright colours, fluorescent lighting, etc.
WHY SHOULD MARKETERS CARE?

• Not thinking through the political implications or valuing one social

class over the other – the point is that social classes will have different
resources and consumption patterns

• The positioning of many products is based on existing or desired social

status – luxury vs value

• Advertising can be used to reinforce the idea of a product belonging to

a certain social class’s consumption constellation
Good luck with your mid-semester test
next week!

32