Demographics and Social Stratification

Demographics and Social Stratification

In this chapter, we will discuss the closely related concepts of demographics and social stratification:

Population size and distributionOccupationEducationIncomeAge

Demographics

Subculture

A subculture is a segment of a larger culture whose members share distinguishing values and patterns of behavior. The unique values and patterns of behavior shared by subculture group members are based on the social history of the group as well as on its current situation.

Families and Households

The Household Life Cycle

Family Decision MakingFamily decision making is the process by which decisions that directly or indirectly involve two or more family members are made.

The Nature of Family Purchase Roles

The six roles that frequently occur in family decision making, using a cereal purchase as an example. It is important to not that individuals will play various roles for different decisions.

InitiatorInformation gathererInfluencerDecision makerPurchaserUser

Consumer Socialization

The supermarket as a classroom

ObservingMaking requestsMaking selectionsMaking assisted purchasesMaking independent purchases

Consumer socialization is the process by which young people acquire skills, knowledge, and attitudes relevant to their functioning as consumers in the marketplace.The content of consumer learning can be broken down into three categories: consumer skills, consumption-related preference, and consumption-related attitudes.

Reference Groups Change as the Situation Changes

Reference Group Influences on the Consumption Process




Asch Phenomenon

Opinion Leader Characteristics

AdvertisingAdvertising attempts to both stimulate and simulate opinion leadership. Stimulation involves themes designed to encourage current owners to talk about the product/brand or prospective owners to ask current owners for their impressions.


Product samplingSampling-sending a sample of a product to a group of potential consumers-is an effective meads of generating interpersonal communications concerning the product.


Creating BuzzBuzz can be defined as the exponential expansion of WOM. It happens when “word spreads like wildfire”with no or limited mass media advertising supporting it.In fact, creating buzz is a key aspect of guerrilla marketing.

Diffusion of Innovations

Continuous innovationAdoption of this type of innovation requires relatively minor changes in behavior or changes in behavior that are unimportant to the consumer.


Dynamically continuous innovation

Adoption of this type of innovation requires a moderate change in an important behavior or a major change in a behavior of low or moderate importance to the individual.


Discontinuous innovation

Adoption of this type of innovation required major changes in behavior of significant importance to the individual or group.

Factors Affecting the Spread of Innovations

Perceived risk is a function of three dimensions

The probability that the innovation will not perform as desiredThe consequence of its not performing as desiredThe ability to reverse, and the cost of reversing, any negative consequences.

Diffusion Rate for Popular Consumer Electronics

Adoptions of an Innovation Over Time

Next figure reemphasize the fact that a few individuals adopt an innovation very quickly, another limited group is reluctant to adopt the innovation, and the majority of the group adopts at some time in between the two extremes.

Innovators 2.5%Early adopters 13.5%Early majority 34%Late majority 34%Laggards 16%



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Demographics and Social Stratification