Online Library > Site Links > Demographics
The New
Demographics
by Enrique De
Argaez, webmaster
Consumers no longer fit into
yesterday's molds. Here's how to get a grip on the new
demographics -- and get inside your customers' heads.
Demographics are the physical
characteristics of a population such as age, sex, marital status,
family size, education, geographic location, occupation, income,
and educational level. For decades, companies large and small
have depended on these demographic categories to shape their
marketing campaigns and make sense of their potential
customers.
It is time to rethink this
strategy. Demographics -- the quantifiable social and economic
characteristics of a population -- are not as powerful as they used
to be. Demographics are increasingly becoming less important.
Demographics are not as significant as they used to be because
the world society has evolved and new subgroups are emerging within
the traditional demographic groups. For example, mixed-races, multiethnic
individuals and so forth. Today in the United States, 1 in 16 Americans
under 18 is of mixed racial heritage. Several celebrities fall into
these subgroups, for example golf champ Tiger Woods, Halle Berry,
Derek Jeter, and many others.
Shifts are also taking place between married vs. single households,
a major component of traditional demographics. In the 1950s, 80 percent of U.S.
Households were married households. Today, the figure is only
slightly more than 50 percent. The typical American family is no
longer typical.
Yankelovich studied 170 variables ranging from spirituality to brands,
and it found a much greater diversity of attitudes among single people
compared to married couples. Today just knowing that someone is
single these days does not tell you much about what he or she
really thinks and believes.
Adding to the difficulty of
categorizing consumers is their refusal to be stereotyped on the
basis of race, age, education and income level. Americans living
in a more accepting, multicultural society no longer fit neatly
into one demographic profile that lets companies determine their
lifestyles and the best way to market to them. The demographic
categories that were traditionally understood are now breaking down.
The boundries between categories are blurring.
In Europe the demographics are also changing. Asia is also
undergoing demographic changes. So the consumers and the markets
situation worldwide have to be studied, analyzed and quantified
to reflect the present population and today's trends.
About the Author:
Enrique De Argaez is the webmaster of several market research
websites. Since 2000 he has been collecting Internet Usage Statistics,
and publishing the data for over 233 countries and regions of the
world for free use by the academia, the global business community
and the general public. For more information about Internet Usage,
visit his other website at: http://www.InternetWorldStats.com
Related Demographics
Articles:
The End of the Mass
Market
Demographics is in
Evolution
Demographics Evolution
from 1940 to 2015
Guide to Internet
Statistics and Demographics
