Social class and its impact.
Presented by: Ashutosh Agrawal
Evaluation of the word…
• Society - A society, or a human society, is a group of people involved with each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or social territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations.
Source- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society
What is a social class?
• Social class can be thought of as a continuum which includes a range of social position on which each member of the society can be placed, divided into a small number of specific social classes, or strata…
Source- consumer behavior 10th edition Leon G.Schiffman, Leslie Lazar kanuk, S. Ramesh Kumar. Pg. no.-329
Characteristics of Social Class
• Is hierarchical• Is a natural form of segmentation• Provides a frame of reference for consumer
behaviour• Reflects a person’s relative social status• In Canada, individuals can up or down the
social class hierarchy
Social Class and Social Status
• Status is frequently thought of as the relative rankings of members of each social class–wealth–power–prestige
Social Comparison Theory
• states that individuals compare their own possessions against those of others to determine their relative social standing.
Status Consumption
• The process by which consumers actively increase their social standing through conspicuous consumption or possessions
Social Class Measurement
• Subjective Measures: individuals are asked to estimate their own social-class positions
• Reputational Measures: informants make judgments concerning the social-class membership of others within the community
• Objective Measures: individuals answer specific socioeconomic questions and then are categorized according to answers
Objective Measures
• Single-variable indexes– Occupation– Education– Income– Other Variables
Composite-variable indexes– Index of Status
Characteristics– Socioeconomic
Status Score
Index of Status Characteristics (ISC)
• A composite measure of social class that combines occupation, source of income (not amount), house type / dwelling area into a single weighted index of social class standing.
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Socioeconomic Status Score (SES)
• A multivariable social class measure used by the United States Bureau of the Census that combines occupational status, family income, and educational attainment into a single measure of social class standing.
What is Middle Class?
• The “middle” 50% of household incomes Households made up of college-educated adults who use computers, and are involved in children’s education
• Lower-middle to middle-middle based on income, education, and occupation (this view does NOT include upper-middle which is considered affluent)
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What is Working Class?
• Households with lower earnings; control more than 30% of the total income in the U.S.
• These consumers tend to be more brand loyal than wealthier consumers
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Impact of social classes on marketing….
• Let us rewind……. Economics…
Demonstration effect…
Cont..
• Clothing, Fashion, and Shopping– Where one shops– External point of identification
• The Pursuit of Leisure– Type of leisure activities differ
» continued
Cont..
• Saving, Spending, and Credit– Level of immediate gratification sought varies
• Responses to marketing communication– Upper classes have a broader and more general
view of the world– Regional variations in language rise as we move
down the social ladder– Exposure to media varies by social class
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Limitations of Social Class
• Social class is more difficult to measure than income
• Many purchase behaviours are related more to income than social class
• Consumers often use expected social class for their consumption patterns
• Dual incomes have changed consumption patterns
• Individual dimensions of social class are sometimes better predictors of consumer behaviour
Thank you..