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Affluent Predilections
by Jack Loechner, Tuesday, April 16, 2013 6:15 AM
According to the Shullman Research Center “Survey of the Affluent,” ads, electronic devices and apps attract very high income consumers. Magazines and newspapers score high,
especially in the age 35-54 and 55+ categories, among places where consumers have seen or heard advertising. America's 6.7 million adults, with household incomes of $250,000 or more, are
all avid users of electronic devices and apps and are attracted to ads in a wide selection of media platforms. Only about 3% of total adults in the United States live in
these households, but they are of great importance to marketers and advertisers. Health clubs and gyms are at the top of the list of consumers' level of interest in advertising seen
or heard in selected media platforms and places, and the Affluent are firmly committed to technology in all its forms, and always open to innovation. The study investigates
the expectations, behaviors, and plans of adults in all markets, with a particular focus on upscale consumers, the drivers of the luxury and affluent markets. Selected March 2013
insights are included in the report, by three age segments among those very upscale adults with household incomes of $250,000 or more. These very desirable consumers are all not alike,
and the Whitepaper highlights some key differences among three age segments regarding the media platforms they currently use, the electronic devices they own and plan to purchase, and the apps
they have installed on the electronic devices they own. 6.7 million adults with HH incomes of $250,000 or more:
- 23% under age 35; 1.6 million
- 40% age 35 to 54;
3.1 million
- 31% age 55 and over; 2.0 million
Source: Bureau of Census, March 2012 Older, very-high-income consumers, are more likely to have seen or heard
advertising through many of the traditional media platforms during the past 30 days. An exception is movie theaters, where the youngest and oldest segments are more likely than the 35- to
54-year-olds to have seen advertising.
Top ten locations where advertising
was seen or heard in past 30 days by those with household income $250,000+ (% of Respondents by Group)
Total AdultsAge <35Age
35-54Age 55+ Television 80% 64% 80% 91%
Magazines 73 60 74 81 Radio 66 42
74 69 Websites 66 52 67 75 Newspapers 64 31 71 76 In mail sent to your home 58 27 59 76 Billboards 47 27 45 64
Facebook and other social media sites 41 46 40 38 Movie theaters 39 46 32 44 Shopping malls 35 24 40
35
Source: Shullman Research Center, April 2013
Among the highly desirable, very-high-income consumers, who saw or heard advertising in different media platforms or places, advertising in health clubs and gyms captured the interest of the
greatest proportion of these consumers (more than four in five of the under-35s), followed by magazines, newspapers, and television. The youngest age segment was most interested in
advertising in bus stops, subway stations, and train stations, followed by health clubs and gyms and smartphones; for the middle age segment, health clubs/gyms and medical offices topped the
list; and the 55-and-overs were most interested in advertising they saw in magazines and newspapers.
Considerable or some interest among those who saw/heard advertising with Household Income $250,000+ (% of Respondents by Group)
Total AdultsAge <35Age 35-54Age 55+ Health
clubs/gyms 66% 85% 67% 50% Magazines 59 63 61 55 Newspapers 55
27 61 54
Television 52 43 58 49 Sporting stadiums or arenas 50 46
54 43 Websites 45 36 53 39 Medical offices 45 72 62
21 Smartphones 45 84 39 22 Radio 44 41 47 40
Shopping malls 43 50 45 7 Bus stops/subway stations/train stations 41 89 34 27
Source: Shullman Research Center, April 2013 The youngest age segment is very much in the market for tablets and
Internet-connectible television sets, with more than one third planning to purchase each of these devices in the next twelve months.
Electronic devices planned to purchase among those with Household Income $250,000+ (% of Respondents by Group)
TotalAdults Age <35 Age 35-54 Age
55+ Smartphone 24% 27% 26% 20%
Tablet 18 36 16
9 Digital media receiver 15 13 16 13 Internet-connectable television 15 36 11 8 e-Reader 13 15 14 10 Netbook 12 12 11 14 Video game system 12 16 16 4
Digital media streaming device 12 18
10 11
Source: Shullman Research Center, April 2013
Notably, a majority of these very-high-income consumers chose their smartphone when asked which electronic device they would choose if they could have only
one of their currently-owned devices. Otherwise, only tablets and video game systems, among the youngest age segment, were chosen by more than a small percentage of these elite
consumers.
One device could not live without In home (respondents with
Household Income $250,000+; % of Respondents by Group)
Total AdultsAge <35Age 35-54Age 55+
Smartphone 58% 47% 63% 58% Tablet 22 25 20 22 Video game
system 7 22 3 2 Sensor-based video games 3 0
4 3 Internet-connectable television 3 0 4 4 e-Reader 2 1 2 2
Source: Shullman Research Center, April 2013 Older,
very-high-income, consumers are more likely than the younger segment to have many of the listed app types installed on their devices: weather, books/e-readers, GPS/directions/maps, business
and finance, etc. A notable exception is social networking apps, which have been installed by more than half of the youngest segment compared with just over one third of the oldest
segment. Nearly all very-high-income adults use the Internet at home. More than two thirds of the 35- to 54-year-olds also go online at work and while in transit or on the
go. The overall impact, concludes the report, is that these very high income adults are committed consumers with an appetite for innovation, representing a huge opportunity for
marketers and agencies alike.
Data presented in this paper are based on the Shullman Luxury and Affluence Monthly Pulse, March Preview Wave, conducted online between February 26
and March 6, 2013, among adults age 18 or older. Results were weighted to bring these income groups, as well as other key demographics, into line with estimates from the March 2012
Current Population Survey as reported by the Bureau of the Census in the fall of 2012. For
additional information from the Shullman
Research Center, please visit here.