Consumer Behavior - Social Class

Consumer BehaviorSocial Class

Conducted by Hao Xue & Yoshihiro Horie

Social Class

The division of members of a society into a hierarchy of distinct status classes, so that members of each class have the same relative status and members of all other classes have either more or less status

Definition

Structure of Social Class

Upper Class

Middle Class

Lower Class

Traditional Social Structure

Upper Class

Middle Class

Lower Class

Olive Type Social Structure

Social Class profileThe lower

– lower class

The upper-lower class

The lower- middle

class

The upper-middle class

The upper-upper class

The lower-upper class

Upper-Upper

Lower-Upper

Upper-Middle

Middle Class

Working Class

Lower Classes

Lower-Lower

2.50% 7.50% 12.50% 17.50% 22.50% 27.50% 32.50% 37.50%Upper-Upper

Lower-Upper

Upper-Middle

Middle Class

Working Class

Lower Classes

Lower-Lower

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Social Class Structure in Canada (Differentiated by Income)

Strugglers

Security- minded majority

Faith full followers

Achieving professionals

New wealth

Country club establishment

PuzzleThe lower

– lower class

The upper-lower class

The lower- middle

class

The upper-middle class

The upper-upper class

The lower-upper class

• Small number of well – established families• Sponsor major charity events• Serve as trustees for local universities and hospitals• prominent physicians and lawyers• May be heads of major financial institutions, owners of major long- established firms• accustomed to wealth, so do not spend money conspicuously

Do you know which Social Class it refers to?

PuzzleThe lower

– lower class

The upper-lower class

The lower- middle

class

The upper-middle class

The upper-upper class

The lower-upper class

• Small number of well – established families• Serve as trustees for local universities and hospitals• prominent physicians and lawyers• May be heads of major financial institutions, owners of major long- established firms• accustomed to wealth, so do not spend money conspicuously

The upper-upper class

PuzzleThe lower

– lower class

The upper-lower class

The lower- middle

class

The upper-middle class

The upper-upper class

The lower-upper class

• Primary non-managerial white-collar workers and highly paid blue-collar workers• Want to achieve “respectability” and be accepted as good citizens• Want their children to be well-behaved• Tend to be churchgoers and are often involved in church- sponsored activities• Prefer a neat and clean appearance and tend to avoid faddish or highly – styled clothing• Constitute a major market for do-it-yourself products

Do you know which Social Class it refers to?

PuzzleThe lower

– lower class

The upper-lower class

The lower- middle

class

The upper-middle class

The upper-upper class

The lower-upper class

• Primary non-managerial white-collar workers and highly paid blue-collar workers• Want to achieve “respectability” and be accepted as good citizens• Want their children to be well-behaved• Tend to be churchgoers and are often involved in church- sponsored activities• Prefer a neat and clean appearance and tend to avoid faddish or highly – styled clothing• Constitute a major market for do-it-yourself products

The lower- middle class

PuzzleThe lower

– lower class

The upper-lower class

The lower- middle

class

The upper-middle class

The upper-upper class

The lower-upper class

• Solidly blue collar• strive for security (sometimes gained from union membership)• View work as a means to “buy” enjoyment• Want children to behave properly• High wage earners in this group may spend impulsively• Interested in items that enhance their leisure time (e.g., TV sets, hunting equipment)• Males are sports fans, beer drinkers

Do you know which Social Class it refers to?

PuzzleThe lower

– lower class

The upper-lower class

The lower- middle

class

The upper-middle class

The upper-upper class

The lower-upper class

• Solidly blue collar• strive for security (sometimes gained from union membership)• View work as a means to “buy” enjoyment• Want children to behave properly• High wage earners in this group may spend impulsively• Interested in items that enhance their leisure time (e.g., TV sets, hunting equipment)• Males are sports fans, beer drinkers

The upper-lower class

How is it important to understand social class in consumer behaviour study?

Universal Pecking Order

Affects access to resources

Affects tastes and lifestyles

natural form of market segmentation

Frame of reference for consumer behaviour

Reflects a person’s relative social status

Individuals can move up or down the social class hierarchy

Social class is a crucial external factor which influence consumer’s behaviour; It is because:

Trends for social class evolution

The measurement of social class

Downward MobilityUpward Mobility

Subjective Measures Reputational Measures

Objective Measures

Single-variable index• Occupation• Education• Income

Composite-variable index

Index of status characteristics weight measure of • occupation,• source of income• house type• dwelling area• Cultural interest• World view• Etc.,

Socio – economic status scoreA measure using three basic socio – economic variables: • occupation • income and • educational attainment

How social class affects purchase decisions?

Class differences in World View

How social class affects purchase decisions?

Taste Culture, Codes, and Cultural Capital are difference among different social class

Taste Culture• Aesthetic • Intellectual preferences

Codes Cultural Capital

• Elaborated codes (Analysis)

• Restricted codes (Discretion)

• Refined behavior that admits a person into the realm of the upper class

Marketing strategies for different social class

Targeting working class

• 13% of Canadian families • 10% of Canada children

Canadian poverty lineStaples

• milk• orange juice• tea• etc.

Purchase at the same rate as average – income families

Minimum-wage-level households spend a greater-than-average share of income on out-of-pocket costs for

housing and food eaten at home

Marketing strategies for different social class

Targeting the Affluent

Attitudes

Young

Old

Luxury is a rewardDisplay self-success

Luxury is functionalDemonstrate logical decision

Luxury is indulgence More male

Different Segmentation of Rich

Old Money – inherited• Tend to make distinctions in terms of ancestry and lineage rather than wealth

The Nouveaux Riches• Status anxiety – more likely to shopping for demonstrating status

Apply Status Symbols for other social segmentations

Conspicuous Consumption• Visible evidence of their ability to afford luxury goods

Invidious Distinction• To inspire envy in others through the display of wealth or power

The Trophy Wife• Idle rich• Husband – Walking billboard• Potlatch ritual – social weapon

Porody Display• Deliberately avoid status symbols

Social Class Concept applies to marketing strategy

Clothing, fashion and shopping

Responses to marketing communication

The pursuit of leisure

Saving, spending, and credit

Social Class Applications in typical

fields

In class activity

• Social Class Symbols: In-class Activity Game• Chintz or Shag game• http://www.pbs.org/peoplelikeus/games/

chintz.htmlSelect household furnishings and accessories

• Purpose of the game – Subjective measurement– Reputational measurement

What is your social class?

• Noveau riche• Middle middle• Old money• Working class• Trailer house

Social mobility

Social mobility

• A movement of individuals, groups or families through a system of social hierarchy

o Vertical mobility• Upward and downward mobility

A freedom to attain education has changed a way we look at traditional social class model.

A change in career – income increase/decreaseo Horizontal mobility

Vertical mobility

• Family income: career transition• Occupational status: celebrity, musician• Educational attainment: MBA

But what about• Taste• If you win lottery

Three criteria

Lower class Upper class

taste

Lower class to upper class

Rachel McAdams

Ryan GoslingJustin Bieber

Celebritymusician

Born in Ladysmith BC, the daughter of Barry, a furnace repairman, and Carol Anderson, a waitress

Pamela Anderson was working as a fitness instructor

People may move up or down the social ladder within their lifetime or from one generation to the next. That everyone has the same chance of moving up is what lies behind the idea of equality of opportunity.

Thank you