Life-Stage Segmentation Profiles

Portrait of the Upper-Income Mature

Overview

They are affluent, established, and have discretionary income. The Upper-Income Mature (UIM) represents 13 percent of the population, and they are key consumers: over 45 years old, no children in the house and a household income of more than $75,000 annually. The majority has grandchildren and most of them are married and have attended college.

They live in single-family homes, and just about all own their own homes. They are on-the-go people who drive more than most others. And with the “Boomer” generation, the one segment of the population that will continue to grow for the next two decades, learning how to meet their needs is important both for circulation and advertising.

Newspaper Readership & Newspaper Web site

In 1995, 90 percent of the UIM were faithful newspaper readers. By 2005 that number had slipped somewhat, but at 84 percent, this is still a strong readership block. Among the Upper-Income Matures is found the highest percentage of people who say, “I need to get the news every day.”

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

Like the Upper-Income Young, this group reads cartoons, checks local sales, clip coupons, and checks weather. Unique to the three “Mature” segments, they also clip and save articles.

They are “news-hounds” in that they have the highest number of readers who say they buy the Sunday newspaper for news article/features, and have the fewest buyers based on advertising. Certainly they are a sweet spot for home delivery: More than three-quarters get their Sunday paper as subscribers.

Most of the UIM feel it is important to be up-to-date on the news, and though somewhat fewer feel better informed after reading the newspaper, overall they feel the newspaper is a good value. A majority feel that reading the newspaper is a mentally engaging activity and say they would miss reading the paper if it was taken away.

Though they are Internet savvy and active online, Upper-Income Mature are only average users of the newspaper Web site.

Once on the site they are about average in their consumption of breaking news, national news, community news, and political news. A little higher in their consumption of event/entertainment/restaurant information and a little lower in their consumption of sports information/scores. They are the segment with the highest percentage of use for video reports and also high in their consumption of financial information. They are less likely to use reader-submitted information that any of the other segments.

Given this group’s strong involvement in the print product, there is certainly a case favoring development of them as a strong online base. Extending the newspaper’s relationship by offering more features that appeal to them, such as opportunities for mental engagement and deeper local entertainment information, would allow a newspaper to build a base of online advertising targeted to affluent households as well as to “Boomers.”

Internet & Technology Adoption

They are heavy Internet users, surpassed on Sunday mornings only by the Upper-Income Young. Given the size difference between the two segments (the Upper-Income Young are 5 percent of the population, the Upper-Income Mature is 13 percent), these are the people most likely to be found on the Internet Sunday mornings.

On the Internet they are likely to be trading stocks and reading medical/fitness info, and less likely to be reading blogs or downloading podcasts. When asked where they go on the Internet for local news and information, this is the highest percentage of Google users. Nearly as many turn to the newspaper Web site for news and information. Yahoo and the local TV station are close to a tie for third place.

In looking at their entertainment information, they use the web for travel information and dining out/nightlife information more than many segments, but are about average in their use of the Internet for theater, concert, arts times and reviews and for their calendar of events. Even though Google is predominantly where they turn for news, it is much closer for entertainment: Google, Yahoo and the newspaper web site are all within 10 points of each other.

They are “tech adopters” –higher than average for DVD players, personal computers, cell phones and laptops – and a little lower for digital cameras, video cameras and iPods. They fall below average in using their cell phones for text, information, photos and video.

Shopping

Slightly more than half of the Upper-Income Matures shopped in the past seven days. As a group they are less likely to shop at malls or shopping centers, and more likely to shop on the Internet. More UIM say they dislike shopping (29 percent) than any other segment.

Their store preferences mirror the Upper-Income Young and Families: slightly less than average shop at Wal-Mart, slightly more than average shop at Target.

In line with the overall trend, they use the Internet for researching products before they buy and more than half use the Internet to check product availability. For their online shopping research, they turn to Google, store Web sites, and other sources before they turn to the newspaper Web site.

Their online spending is higher than any other segment. Whether this reflects their overall disposable income or their dislike of shopping in general is unclear. What is clear is that they are an attractive target for online retailers and therefore, as their numbers grow, they are an important group to attract to a Web site.

Advertising

Newspaper was the dominant source for advertising in the past seven days for most people, but the highest among the Mature segments. Sixty percent of the UIM use the newspaper to check ads, and 60 percent also say the newspaper is valuable in planning shopping. Thirty-two percent use the Internet to check ads.

When asked which advertising media they spend the most time reading, 67 percent of the UIM said “newspapers,” the highest of any segment. Right on down the line when it comes to shopping and advertising, this group turns to newspapers more than any other media.

True to the pattern of their newspaper readership, the majority are most likely to turn to the newspaper when buying from most stores. The only exception is when shopping at computer stores, where use of the Internet edges out the newspaper.

Though they list advertising as a distant second in their reasons for purchasing the Sunday newspaper, nearly half check the inserts to see what is on sale and checking inserts is a part of the Sunday-reading routine. As with all groups, advertising is an important content element and the loss of advertising would presumably lessen the value of the newspaper.

Recommendations

One key recommendation emerges for reaching and serving the Upper-Income Matures: Maximize cross-promotion between print and online to highlight content and advertising information relevant to the segment.

Newspapers that can develop this dual-product use will be better positioned to maintain the relationship with the continuing flow of people into this stage of life.

Though not stated in the study, it also stands to reason that the emerging interest of advertisers to reach the “Baby Boomer” is an opportunity to tout the newspaper’s strong relationship with these, the most affluent of the “Boomers.” A strategy that is mindful in keeping them as readers in print and online is necessary both for the circulation base and for ongoing advertising revenue.

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About the Author

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.