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each member of society can be placed, researchers have preferred to divide the continuum
into a small number of specific social classes, or strata.
2. Social class is defined as the division of members of a society into a hierarchy of distinct
status classes, so that members of each class have relatively the same status, and members of
all other classes have either more or less status.
Social Class and Social Status
1. Researchers define each social class by the amount of status (social status) the members of
of as the relative rankings of members of each social class in terms of specific status factors.
Examples include:
a) Relative wealthamount of economic assets.
b) Powerdegree of personal choice.
c) Prestigethe degree of recognition received from others.
3. To secure an understanding of how status operates within the minds of consumers,
researchers have explored the idea of social comparison theory.
a) The idea is that individuals quite normally compare their own material possessions with
those owned by others in order to determine their relative social standing.
b) Status is often defined in terms of purchasing power.
c) A related concept is status consumptionthe process by which consumers endeavor to
increase their social standing through conspicuous consumption or possessions.
4. Other theories aside, status is often defined in terms of convenient demographic variables:
a) Family income.
b) Occupational status.
c) Educational attainment.
Social Class is Hierarchical and a Natural Form of Segmentation
1. Social class categories are usually ranked in a hierarchy ranging from low to high status.
a)
Thus, members of a specific social class perceive members of other social classes as
having either more or less status than they do.
b) Within this context, social class membership serves consumers as a frame of reference
(i.e., a reference group) for the development of their attitudes and behavior.
2. The hierarchical aspect of social class is important to marketers.
3. Consumers may purchase certain products because these products are favored by members of
their own or a higher social class (e.g., a fine French Champagne), and consumers may avoid
other products because they perceive the products to be lower-class products (e.g., a digital
readout wristwatch as a dress watch).
4. The classification of societys members into a small number of social classes has also
enabled researchers to note the existence of shared values, attitudes, and behavioral patterns
among members within each social class and differing values, attitudes, and behavior
between social classes.
Social Class Categories
1. Little agreement exists among sociologists on how many distinct class divisions are
Reputational Measures
1. In this form, selected community informants make initial judgments concerning the social
Incomeresearchers who favor income as a measure of social class use either amount
or source of income.
i) Although income is a popular estimate of social class standing, not all consumer
researchers agree that it is an appropriate index of social class.
ii) Some argue that a blue-collar automobile mechanic and a white-collar assistant
bank manager may both earn $53,000 a year, yet because of (or as a reflection of)
social class differences, each will spend that income in a different way.
iii) Further substantiating the importance of consumers personal values, rather than
amount of income, is the observation that affluence may be more a function of
attitude or behavior than of income level.
d) Other Variablesquality of neighborhood and dollar value of residence are rarely used
as sole measures of social class.
i) They are, however, used informally to support or verify social class membership
assigned on the basis of occupational status or income.
ii) Finally, possessions have been used by sociologists as an index of social class.
a)
The best-known and most elaborate rating scheme for evaluating
possessions is Chapins Social Status Scale, which focuses on the presence
of certain items of furniture and accessories in the living room and the
condition of the room.
Composite-Variable Indexes
1. Composite-variable indexes systematically combine a number of socioeconomic variables to
constellation of a specific lifestyle factors (shared beliefs, attitudes, activities, and behaviors)
that distinguish members of a social class from members of other social classes.
2. People in any class may possess values, attitudes, and behavioral patterns that are a hybrid of
two or more classes.
China: Pursuing a Middle-Class Lifestyle
1. In recent years, established marketers from all over the world have singled out China as a
by their parents.
2. Most Americans think of upward mobility.
a) This results in the upper classes being the reference group for many ambitious men and
women in America.
b) Recognizing these aspirations, marketers frequently incorporate higher-class symbols
into their advertising.
3. Social class mobility also contributes to products and services filtering down from a higher
level to a lower one.
Some Signs of Downward Mobility
1. There are signs of some downward mobility.
2. Young adults will find it very difficult to do better than their parents, and may not do as
GEODEMOGRAPHIC CLUSTERING
1. Traditional social class measures have been enhanced by the linkage of geographic and
a)
This service assigns every one of the U.S. micro neighborhoods (zip + 4 areas) to one of
62 PRIZM clusters.
b) These are collapsed into 15 groups.
c) Marketers can superimpose these geodemographic clusters onto product and service
usage data, media exposure data, and lifestyle data to create a sharply defined picture of
their target markets.
THE AFFLUENT CONSUMER
1. Affluent households are an attractive marketing target because of their disproportionately
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households.
2. They read 6.1 different publications, listen to 12.5 hours of weekday radio, and watch 24.7
hours of TV per week.
a) 92 percent subscribe to cable TV.
Segmenting the Affluent Market
1. The affluent market is not one single market.
c)
Nannys in chargehouseholds that have two or more earners, neither earning high
incomes, and children present. (9 percent of the Upper Deck).
d) Two careershouseholds that have two or more earners, neither earning high incomes
and no children present. (11 percent of the Upper Deck).
e) The good lifehouseholds that have a high degree of affluence with no person
employed, or with the head-of-household not employed. (7 percent of the Upper Deck)
3. An untapped market is the rural affluent. Categories include:
a) Suburban transplantsthose who move to the country but still commute to high-paying
urban jobs.
b) Equity-rich suburban expatriatessell homes for a huge profit, buy less expensive
homes in small towns, live off the difference.
c) City folks with country homeswealthy snowbirds and vacationers.
d) Wealthy landownerswealthy farmers and other natives who make a comfortable
living off the land.
MIDDLE-CLASS CONSUMERS
1. It is not easy to define the borders of what is meant by middle class.
2. Though other measures are possible (such as those earning between $25,000 and $75,000)
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a)
coupled with a general sense of not wanting to be left out of the sweep of computer
technology have propelled parents to seek out computer training for their children, even
their infant children.
4. Fifty-five-year-old professionals, who were initially reluctant to learn computers, are now
seeking personal computer training.
5. Consumers throughout the world have come to believe that it is critical to acquire a
functional understanding of computers in order to ensure that they do not become obsolete,
or hinder themselves socially or professionally.
6. It appears that those without necessary computer skills will increasingly find themselves to
be under classed and disadvantaged.
The Geek Status
1. The increasingly positive image of geeks has made them and their lifestyles the target of
marketers messages designed to appeal to their appetite for novel technological products.
SELECTED CONSUMER BEHAVIOR APPLICATIONS OF SOCIAL CLASS
Clothing, Fashion, and Shopping
1. Most people dress to fit their self-images, which include their perceptions of their own social
class membership.
2. Members of specific social classes differ in terms of what they consider fashionable or in
good taste.
a) Lower middle-class consumers have a strong preference for T-shirts, caps, and other
clothing that offer an external point of identification.
b) Upper-class consumers are likely to buy clothing that is free from such supporting
associations.
i) Upper-class consumers also seek clothing with a more subtle look.
3. Social class is also an important variable in determining where a consumer shops.
The Pursuit of Leisure
1. Social class membership is also closely related to the choice of recreational and leisure-time
activities.
a) Upper-class consumers are likely to attend the theater and concerts, to play bridge, and
to attend college football games.
b) Lower-class consumers tend to be avid television watchers and fishing enthusiasts, and
they enjoy drive-in movies and baseball games.
2. Over the past decade or so, however, a number of changes are increasingly being observed
that point to a further blurring of social-class lines with regard to leisure interests.
they are more willing to invest in insurance, stocks, and real estate.
3. In comparison, lower-class consumers are generally more concerned with immediate
gratification; when they do save, they are primarily interested in safety and security.
Social Class and Communication
1. Social class groupings differ in terms of their media habits and in how they transmit and
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receive communications.
When it comes to describing their world, lower-class consumers tend to portray it in rather
personal and concrete terms, although middle-class consumers are able to describe their
experiences from a number of different perspectives.
Such variations in response indicate that middle-class consumers have a broader or more
general view of the world, although lower-class consumers tend to have a narrow or personal
view, seeing the world through their own immediate experiences.
Regional differences in terminology, choice of words and phrases, and patterns of usage also
tend to increase as we move down the social class ladder.
Selective exposure to various types of mass media differs by social class.
a) Higher social class members tend to prefer current events and drama, although lowerclass individuals tend to prefer soap operas, quiz shows, and situation comedies.
b) Higher-class consumers tend to have greater exposure to magazines and newspapers
than do their lower-class counterparts.
c) Lower-class consumers are likely to have greater exposure to publications that
dramatize romance and the lifestyles of movie and television celebrities.