Social class(Consumer Behavior)

Social class and its impact.

Presented by: Ashutosh Agrawal

Evaluation of the word…

• Society - A society, or a human society, is a group of people involved with each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or social territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations.

Source- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society

What is a social class?

• Social class can be thought of as a continuum which includes a range of social position on which each member of the society can be placed, divided into a small number of specific social classes, or strata…

Source- consumer behavior 10th edition Leon G.Schiffman, Leslie Lazar kanuk, S. Ramesh Kumar. Pg. no.-329

Characteristics of Social Class

• Is hierarchical• Is a natural form of segmentation• Provides a frame of reference for consumer

behaviour• Reflects a person’s relative social status• In Canada, individuals can up or down the

social class hierarchy

Social Class and Social Status

• Status is frequently thought of as the relative rankings of members of each social class–wealth–power–prestige

Social Comparison Theory

• states that individuals compare their own possessions against those of others to determine their relative social standing.

Status Consumption

• The process by which consumers actively increase their social standing through conspicuous consumption or possessions

Social Class Measurement

• Subjective Measures: individuals are asked to estimate their own social-class positions

• Reputational Measures: informants make judgments concerning the social-class membership of others within the community

• Objective Measures: individuals answer specific socioeconomic questions and then are categorized according to answers

Objective Measures

• Single-variable indexes– Occupation– Education– Income– Other Variables

Composite-variable indexes– Index of Status

Characteristics– Socioeconomic

Status Score

Index of Status Characteristics (ISC)

• A composite measure of social class that combines occupation, source of income (not amount), house type / dwelling area into a single weighted index of social class standing.

11-11

Socioeconomic Status Score (SES)

• A multivariable social class measure used by the United States Bureau of the Census that combines occupational status, family income, and educational attainment into a single measure of social class standing.

What is Middle Class?

• The “middle” 50% of household incomes Households made up of college-educated adults who use computers, and are involved in children’s education

• Lower-middle to middle-middle based on income, education, and occupation (this view does NOT include upper-middle which is considered affluent)

11-13

What is Working Class?

• Households with lower earnings; control more than 30% of the total income in the U.S.

• These consumers tend to be more brand loyal than wealthier consumers

11-14

(continued)

Impact of social classes on marketing….

• Let us rewind……. Economics…

Demonstration effect…

Cont..

• Clothing, Fashion, and Shopping– Where one shops– External point of identification

• The Pursuit of Leisure– Type of leisure activities differ

» continued

Cont..

• Saving, Spending, and Credit– Level of immediate gratification sought varies

• Responses to marketing communication– Upper classes have a broader and more general

view of the world– Regional variations in language rise as we move

down the social ladder– Exposure to media varies by social class

» continued

11-22

Limitations of Social Class

• Social class is more difficult to measure than income

• Many purchase behaviours are related more to income than social class

• Consumers often use expected social class for their consumption patterns

• Dual incomes have changed consumption patterns

• Individual dimensions of social class are sometimes better predictors of consumer behaviour

Thank you..