Life-Stage Segmentation Profiles

Portrait of the Upper-Income Family

Overview

Affluent, tech-savvy, and forward-thinking: Upper-Income Families (UIF) represent 14 percent of the population. They are key consumers, mostly married, have children living at home and have an annual household income of more than $75,000 annually.

Eighty-six percent have attended college, significantly higher than the national average of 68 percent. Ninety percent live in a single family home (vs. 72 percent nationally) and 94 percent own their own home. They are in their car more than most: 38 percent drive 12,000 – 18,000 miles a year, and 25 percent drive over 18,000 miles a year compared to 18 percent nationally.

Newspaper Readership & Newspaper Web site

The percentage of overall respondents who strongly agreed that they “need to get the news every day” declined from 1995 to 2005 by eight points, but the decline was smaller among Upper-Income Families. In 1995, 50 percent strongly agreed with the statement; in 2005, 45 percent.

The drop as newspaper readers, however, fell from 87 percent to 75 percent by 2005. That three-quarters of these families are readers is still quite significant, nevertheless it is a 12 point fall. The hit in readership affected both Sunday and daily.

A majority cites news as the key driver in purchasing the Sunday paper, and only about one-quarter buy the Sunday paper for the advertising. As a group, the Sunday readers are mostly subscribers who read the paper before noon, but they spend a little less time with the paper than other groups.

While about one-third read the preprints, this percentage is considerably less than the Middle and Lower-Income Families.

When those who read the newspaper were asked if they had a favorite section, the response was 1) Sports 2) Local News 3) Main News 4) Entertainment and 5) Ads.

They check local sales, read cartoons, clip coupons, check movie listings and check local events.
This group finds it very important to be up to date on the news, and they also feel better informed after reading the paper. Fewer, but still a majority, say they “often talk to family and friends about items they read in the paper.”

When looking to cross promote between the newspaper and the Web site, the Upper-Income Family is a good target. Nearly half the UIF use the newspaper Web site. About half visited the Web site instead of reading the print product, and more than any other segment, they are likely to cancel their home subscription as a result of using the Web site.

When they visit the newspaper Web site, more than half will look at local/regional news, national news and sports scores and information. They also use the newspaper Web site to check stocks or the stock market and to search for homes or real estate.

They turned in higher numbers to the newspaper site for national/international news, political coverage, financial information and sports. Their use of the newspaper Web site for breaking news, local/community news/weather and local entertainment is about average.

Internet & Technology Adoption

While more than half of the population used the Internet in the past thirty days, penetration is highest in the most affluent segments. By 2005, the Internet penetration among UIF was 81 percent. Their use of the Internet both at home and at work is higher than average, as is the time they spend on the Internet. They have the highest use of broadband and are higher than average in their use of wireless/mobile.

Once on the Internet, higher percentages of Upper-Income Families use maps/directories, reviews, online banking and posting photos. Their use of e-mail, blogs and podcasts is about average.

Google beats out the newspaper Web site slightly when the UIF turn to the Internet for news. Yahoo comes in third, and the local TV station Web site last. It looks different when they are looking for local entertainment, where Google, Yahoo and online ticket services all beat out the newspaper Web site.

This group is the highest in its adoption of entertainment technology. With both adults and children in the house it is no surprise they have many of the favorite tech devices such as DVD players, computers, digital and video cameras, cell phones, gaming systems and mobile devices.

While not stated specifically in the studies, their role as early adopters of most things tech seems to be clear. Also not stated, but implied, is the tremendous competition for their attention that any single medium or device faces. While it is clearly shown that the Upper-Income Families use the Internet to access local information, it is only implied that reaching them requires more than just a Web site: information needs to be available in multiple channels.

Shopping

The Upper-Income Families are frequent shoppers, typically shopping on Saturdays, and by-and-large, they enjoy the shopping experience. As a group, they are less likely to shop on the Internet than the other Upper-Income groups.

Internet shopping is growing among them and more than half say they are shopping more often over the Internet. They are also shopping more often at discount/general merchandise stores such as Target and Wal-Mart, and at warehouse clubs. Fifty-three percent shopped at Target in the past three months, the highest of any group.

They are heavy users of the Internet to research products, often purchasing at local stores after their online research. They compare prices and product features, check for store information, and check for product availability. Conversely, they are more likely than the average consumer to research at a local store then purchase on the Internet.

When UIF are shopping or researching online, they are much more likely to go to Google or store Web sites than to the newspaper Web site.

Advertising

Newspaper was the dominant source for advertising in the past seven days for most people, but among the UIF the Internet is slightly higher than average. Slightly less than half say the newspaper is valuable in planning shopping, but more than half cite it as the primary source for bringing their attention to sales. Sunday is the big day for this group to check out advertising information, which is especially important to note in light of the fact that advertising is not the main reason they buy the Sunday paper.

They are second only to the Upper-Income Young in believing that the Internet is the easier medium for comparing prices. While they still believe the newspaper is the most trustworthy, fewer than half believe the newspaper is the most up-to-date.

When it comes to which advertising source is most convenient, by 2005 it was neck and neck between newspaper and the Internet.

The Internet has surpassed newspapers for the advertising media most relied on for computer stores and cell phone stores, but the newspaper still ranks ahead for home electronics stores, appliance stores, and other popular categories.

Recommendations

The study offers two recommendations for reaching this group of consumers:

1) Protect Sunday readership among Upper-Income Families by providing the news and advertising information with which they are most engaged.

In order to ensure that the printed Sunday newspaper continues to satisfy the shopping information needs of Upper-Income Families, newspapers should study and strive to provide the types of news and advertising these families want, such a relevant shopping, family, and entertainment information.

2) Develop a multi-platform approach to shopping information to meet the needs of this segment as they migrate online.

Though not specifically stated in the studies, it also appears that given the close alignment between the Upper-Income Families and the Upper-Income Youth, Middle-Income Youth, and even Lower-Income Youth, it is practical that when creating strategies for those targets, the Upper-Income Families should also be considered.

What IS stated is that the UIF state the reasons for visiting their local newspaper Web site as primarily “local or regional news.” Less than half say “shopping information” even though these are heavy users of the Internet for local store information. A smart strategy will include multi-platform strategies to meet the researching and buying habits of this important group of users.

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About the Author

Ethnic/Income Segmentation | Life-Stage Segmentation

© December 2007 NAA

For more information, contact Randy Bennett, NAA vice president, audience and new business development, at randy.bennett@naa.org.