The changing American society:demographics and social stratification

Presented by : Mamta Dubey

Adarsh Aditya.R.Belur

Demographics and social stratification

• Population and size

• Occupation

• Education

• Income

• Age

Population and size

• In india majority of population (72%) is residing in rural areas.

• Rural markets a very widely scattered covering about 5.6 lacs of villages

• Due to this geographical spread there are many environmental and cultural differences between these area’s people

occupation• Occupation and is strongly associated with

education and income.• In India there are high difference in

consumption patterns with respect to occupation. (Ex : Rural vs Urban)

• Ex : ET for company executives, Fertizers and tractors for farmers.

Education

• In Japan, 99 percent of the population is literate, whereas in the United States up to 15 percent of the population are functionally illiterate

• Around 25 percent of the U.S. population has completed college, one of the world’s highest percentages.

income

• Subjective Discretionary Income – an estimate by the consumer of how much money he or she has available to spend on nonessentials

age

• Generation/Age Cohort: a group of persons who have experienced a common social, political, historical, and economic environment.

• Cohort Analysis: the process of describing and explaining the attitudes, values, and behaviors of an age group as well as predicting its future attitudes, values, and behaviors.

Understanding American Generations

• A Generation or age cohort is a group of persons who have experienced a common social, political, historical, and economic environment.

• Cohort analysis is the process of describing and explaining the attitudes, values and behaviors of an age group as well as predicting its future attitudes, values, and behaviors

Pre-Depression

Depression

Baby Boom

Generation X

Generation Y

Tweens

Baby boom generation Compared to prior generations, Boomers are:

Higher income, higher education

More tech savvy

Defining retirement differently

Boomers also are:

Strong market for “anti-aging” products, travel, and financial services

Often alienated by overly “youth oriented” appeals in ads

Generation X, USA Beyond the stereotype:

Stereotype – Xers as disenfranchised youth

Reality 1– Xers are more highly educated than previous generations

Reality 2– Xer women are more highly educated than Xer men

Reality 3– Xers are getting married, having families and facing the time pressures associated with these events

Reality 4– Reaching Xers requires special attention to media, particularly online

Generation Y, USA

Interesting Facts About Gen Y:Really Two Sub-Markets: Older teens & young

adults

Expected to have the highest education of previous generations with incomes to follow

Very tech savvy with media options including Internet, cell phones, and video games

A strong market for automobiles with brands like Toyota creating edgy and affordable models such as the Scion to target them

Social Structure in the United States

• Upper Americans

• Middle Americans

• Lower Americans

UPPER AMERICANSThe Upper-Upper Americans

The Lower-Upper Americans

The Upper-Middle Americans

MIDDLE AMERICANS

• The Middle Class

• The Working Class

LOWER AMERICANS

• The Upper-Lower Class

• The Lower-Lower Class

The Measurement Of Social Class

• There are two basic approaches:

• - Single-item index

• - Multi-item index

• Since an individual’s overall status is influenced by several dimensions, single-item indexes are generally less accurate than are well-developed multi-item indexes.

Single-Item Index

Education

Occupation

Income

• Marketers generally think of these as direct influencers of consumption behavior rather than determinants of status that then influence behavior.

Multi-Item Index

Hollingshead Index of Social Position

Index of Social Characteristics

Demographics or Social Status

• Social status is largely derived from demographics,i.e, one’s income, education, status.

• Unless the marketer is interested in social standing, he/she will most likely focus on demographic characteristics as direct influencers on consumer behavior!

Social Stratification and Marketing Strategy

While social stratification does not explain all consumption behaviors, it is certainly relevant for some product categories.

You can clearly see this by visiting a furniture store in a working-class neighborhood and then an upper-class furniture store.

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