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Consumer Shopping Habits for Wellness and Environmentally ...

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Geographic Distribution of H+W <strong>Consumer</strong>s <strong>and</strong> Demographic Differences<br />

As we mentioned above in relation to social networks, some regions have a higher density (or<br />

―critical mass‖) of more involved H+W consumers than others. While there are notable differences<br />

between various regions, the differences are not as vast as many in industry imagine, with major<br />

differences only in the percentage of Core consumers. The Core consumer is more likely to be living<br />

in the Pacific states of Cali<strong>for</strong>nia, Oregon, Washington, <strong>and</strong> Alaska. The US region with the most<br />

Periphery consumers is New Engl<strong>and</strong>. In New Engl<strong>and</strong>, 38% of consumers are considered<br />

Periphery <strong>and</strong> only 3% are Core. In all regions, however, there are quite substantial proportions of<br />

Mid-level consumers.<br />

Figure 17 – Proportion of H+W <strong>Consumer</strong>s by Region<br />

Pacific<br />

24%<br />

53%<br />

23%<br />

East South Central<br />

24%<br />

57%<br />

19%<br />

West South Central<br />

21%<br />

61%<br />

18%<br />

South Atlantic<br />

23%<br />

63%<br />

14%<br />

Middle Atlantic<br />

20%<br />

67%<br />

13%<br />

East North Central<br />

28%<br />

64%<br />

8%<br />

West North Central<br />

28%<br />

64%<br />

8%<br />

Mountain<br />

24%<br />

72%<br />

4%<br />

New Engl<strong>and</strong><br />

38%<br />

60%<br />

3%<br />

Periphery Mid-level Core<br />

Q2: “What state do you live in?” | Base: Primary household shoppers (n=2176; 166 Core, 1408 Mid-level, 602 Periphery). | Source:<br />

GMDC 2009 Survey, Mar. 2009.<br />

Other than region, we have not found significant differences in demographics with respect to H+W<br />

lifestyle adoption, other than at extreme edges of the income <strong>and</strong> education scales, as shown in the<br />

following figure. <strong>Consumer</strong>s living in true poverty of course have more pressing concerns than H+W,<br />

<strong>and</strong> consumers at the opposite end of the income scale often purchase ―high end‖ (often organic<br />

<strong>and</strong>/or high quality) products in many categories simply because they can, or to be trendy, without<br />

necessarily having an emotional commitment to those products. So, while they may outwardly<br />

appear to be Core, <strong>and</strong> often test as such quantitatively, they may not be Core in a substantive<br />

sense. As a result there are slightly more Core consumers among higher income groups. Education<br />

also tends to correlate with income to some degree so there are more Periphery consumers among<br />

those with less than high school education. But throughout all demographics, we still see that the<br />

Mid-level segment is the largest consumer group, <strong>and</strong> that, overall, the differences are not nearly as<br />

33

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