Age, Gender and Household Influence on Consumer Behavior

How Age Affects Consumer Behavior

Age trends in the USA

The median age of US consumers was 32.9 in 1990 and was 35.3 in 2000.

American adults (18+) make up more than 74 percent of the overall population.
The senior market is a growing segment with significant buying power. Younger adults age 20-34 is shrinking.

How Age Affects Consumer Behavior

Teens
Look to develop a distinct identity and self-image. Have a need to gain acceptance from peers. Want independence but will not deviate from a group for fear of rejection.

How Age Affects Consumer Behavior

Teens
Are very tech savvy, using internet, cell phones, computers and other digital devices to communicate, play games, do homework and shop. Many earn their own money gaining financial independence earlier than previous generations.

How Age Affects Consumer Behavior

Teens

Rock, hip-hop and rap music symbolizing rebellion are very popular.

Clothing establishes an identity, a way of labeling individuals.

Have sophisticated decision making skills because they come from two career families or single parent families and they are required to make more decisions for themselves.

How Age Affects Consumer Behavior

Teens
Are considered thrifty and savvy shoppers. Are particular about how they spend their money Shop mostly on weekends with the females shopping more than males. Find friends as a major source of information about products.

How Age Affects Consumer Behavior

Teens
Personal purchasing power is $108 billion, not counting the $47 billion more they influence in family purchases. Female teens spend $37 billion on beauty and fashion items and 50 percent are cosmetically brand loyal by age 15.

How Age Affects Consumer Behavior

Teens

Advertising often incorporates symbols, issues and language which they can relate.

Music and sports are commonly used because they fall into the universal language of teenagers.
Process information faster than earlier generations and prefer short, snappy, phrases to long-winded explanations.

How Age Affects Consumer Behavior

Generation X
Individuals born form 1965-1976 Stereotyped as feeling alienated and resentful due to difficulties in career placement and advancement. Many believe in status panic. Called Boomerang kids

How Age Affects Consumer Behavior

Generation Xers
$120 plus billion in spending Prefers customized offerings Key segment for music, movies, travel, alcohol, fast food, clothing, cosmetics Twenty-four percent of budget spend on eating out.

How Age Affects Consumer Behavior

Generation Xers
Cynical about obvious marketing techniques Objectionable ads may contain: exaggerated claims, stereotypes, cigarettes , alcohol, sexually explicit content and political, religious or social messages.

How Age Affects Consumer Behavior

Baby Boomers
Born between 1946-1964 Largest demographic segment 78 million Heavy consumers of financial services Delayed child rearing (parents of some Xers and most Gen Y) Focus on staying young

How Age Affects Consumer Behavior

Boomers
Young Again: Individuals from age 50 to 65 tend to think of themselves as about 15 years younger than they really are in terms of cognitive age.

Gray market: consumers over 65

How Age Affects Consumer Behavior

Boomers represent a critical growing marketing for health-related and medical products and services,
Already spend more than twice the national average on prescription drugs, accounting for more than 40 percent of all pharmaceutical sales.

How Age Affects Consumer Behavior

Boomers have an active lifestyle, they buy leisure based products and services such as educational seminars, travel and sporting goods.
Grandparents spend as much as $30 billion on clothing, toys and other goods and services for their grandchildren.

How Gender and Sexual Orientation affect Consumer Behavior

Men and Women behave based on sex-roles learned early in childhood and defined by their culture.
In Western Societies men previously were guided by agentic goals that stress mastery, self-efficacy, strength, and assertiveness; characterized as being emotionless.

How Gender and Sexual Orientation affect Consumer Behavior

Women, in western societies have been guided by communal goals that stress affiliation and fostering harmonious relations with others; characterized as being submissive, emotional and home oriented.

Men vs. Women

Men
Competitive Independent Externally motivates Risk takers Sports Hunting Fishing Mechanical tasks

Women
Cooperative Interdependent Intrinsically motivated Arts Activities fostering social ties

Changing Sex Roles

Women delay marriage and child-bearing in favor of building a career and working in fields that were traditionally male dominated, such a management, engineering and law. In dual-career families, some husbands are assuming greater responsibility for household tasks and child rearing, although a significant number still fail to do their share.
Men express emotions, be more sensitive and more caring and loving fathers.

Gender and Sexual Orientation

Gender refers to a biological state (male or female).

Sexual orientation reflects a persons preference
toward certain masculine or feminine behaviors. male oriented traits.

Masculine individuals whether male or female display

Feminine individuals display female oriented traits. Androgynous individuals display both male and
female traits.

Gender and Sexual Orientation

According to Census Bureaus statistics the US has more than 601,000 same sex households (304,000 gay male couples and 297,000 lesbian couples). Gay and lesbian consumers are likely to distrust ad messages more than heterosexual consumers.
They respond well to sexual orientation symbols and ads that reflect their lives and culture.

Men vs. Women Differences in Acquisition & Consumption Behaviors

Men
Selective examination of ad messages Decisions based on heuristics Agentic goals Pay attention to positive emotions in purchase decisions

Women
Detailed examination of ad messages Decisions based on attributes Communal goals Pay attention to negative emotions in purchase decisions Compensatory eating

Marketing Implications Based on Gender & Sexual Orientation

Products are becoming less sex-typed as sex roles evolve.

Marketers still target particular genders Ads are depicting more modern images for both men and women. Cause Marketing is an effective way to reach women.

How Household Influence Consumer Behavior

Households are the most important unit of analysis for consumer behavior because most decisions for acquisition, usage and disposition are made by households rather than individuals.

Types of Households

Household is a single person living

alone or a group of individuals who live together in a common dwelling, regardless of whether they are related. This term include cohabitating couples: unmarried opposite sex, same sex or roommates.

Types of Households

The traditional stereotype of the American family consisted of a husband a the primary wage earner, a wide who was a non-wage earner at home, and two children under the age of 18. Only 6 percent of families fit this profile.

Types of Households

Female single head of households have increased three times the number of two-parent households.
Twenty-nine percent of all US households consists of married couples without children (empty nesters or chose not to have kids).

Types of Households

Family is usually defined as a group of

individuals living together who are related by marriage, blood, or adoption.

Nuclear family is a father, mother and

children (traditional family unit).

Extended family is the nuclear family plus

relatives such as a grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

Types of Households

Households are also termed based on family life cycle:

Singles Young married Parents Empty nesters

Types of Households

Many households consider pets to be family members.

60% of American families own pets
59 million dogs 75 millions cats 25 million birds 250 million fish 125 million other animals

Changing Trends in Households

Five factors have altered the basic structure and characteristics of households:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Delayed marriage Cohabitation Dual careers Divorce Smaller families

Changing Trends in Households

Delayed marriage
Many individuals are delaying marriage or not marrying at all Never married individuals age 30-34 has risen 9.4% for men 6.2% for women. Married couple under the age of 25 has decreased by 1/3 since 1980.

Changing Trends in Households

Cohabitation
More individuals live with one another outside the bonds of marriage. Defining aspect is that they view personal possessions as personal property and leave the possibility of the relationship not lasting. Leads to greater discretionary income

Changing Trends in Households

Dual Career Families 2 types 1. The woman is concerned about career advancement and personal fulfillment 2. Woman works out of financial necessity and considers her employment just a job. Increased discretionary income Increased burden of family and career (role overload) Husbands are taking on more nontraditional roles in the family.

Changing Trends in Households

Divorce
Divorce rate have more than doubled since 1960. Four out of ten marriages end in divorce. Influences household structure/ creates single parent families One out of three families in the USA are one parent households. Remarry with greater frequency creating stepfamilies which end up in divorce as well.

Changing Trends in Households

Smaller families
Boomers and Xers are having fewer children Average family size is 3.14 Childless families are one of the fastest growing types of households

Roles that Household Members Play

that different members play in household decisions. 1. Gatekeeper 2. Influencer 3. Decider 4. Buyer 5. User Each role can be performed by different household members and by a single individual, subset of individuals or the entire household.

Household decision roles refers to the roles

Roles that Household Members Play

Household decision roles can be instrumental meaning that they are related to tasks affecting the buying decision.
Roles are also expressive which means they indicate family norms such as choice of color or style.

Roles that Household Members Play

1. 2. 3. 4.

Household decision roles can create conflict:

Reason for buying Who should make the decision Which option to choose Who gets to use the product or service

Households can resolve conflicts through problem solving, persuasion, bargaining, and politics (persuasion and problem solving are used most frequently).

Roles that Household Members Play

Joint decisions are most likely to be made when:

Perceive risk is high The decision is an important one Time is not limited Household is young

Roles that Household Members Play

The role of spouses:

Husband dominant decisions Wife dominant decisions Autonomic decisions Syncratic decisions

Roles that Household Members Play

Spouses
As spouses get nearer a final decision the process moves towards syncratic (two deciding together) decision making. If the family has strong traditional sexrole orientation, tasks are stereotypical in nature and more husband-dominate decisions are made.

Roles that Household Members Play

The process of bargaining which involves a fair exchange of preferences or concession in which the spouse gives in on some points to get what her or she wants in other areas couples tend to make equitable decisions that result from compromises.

Roles that Household Members Play

Children Children nag parents. More likely to influence parents on childrelated products i.e. cereal, cookies, snacks, ice cream, pizza, vacations etc Less likely to influence families who are more traditional and conservative. Parents are more likely to give in to children if both work. The more TV children watch the more they try to influence parents.

Roles that Household Members Play

Children
The older the child the more influence he or she will exert. Older children generate income on their own creating power. Children use techniques such as bargaining, persuasion, emotional appeals and requests.