According to How the Affluent Luxury Consumer Uses the Internet and
Social Media: An In-Depth, a new report from Unity Marketing,
one-in-three affluents surveyd (avg. income $239,300) have visited a
social shopping site in the past three months. Social shopping sites
are most popular among young affluent consumers under age 45. Some 43 percent of these young affluents use social shopping sites, compared to 33 percent of affluents as a whole.
Social shopping sites combine the best of both internet and bricks-and-mortar shopping experiences. “They offer the thrill of the hunt, the challenge of visiting time and again until the perfect item is found, and the satisfaction of landing a deal. Plus they are destinations of choice for the smart, savvy shopper. It is no wonder these sites are so popular among young affluents,” says Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing.
Social shopping is catching on among the luxury ‘cognoscenti’
Social shopping is a rapidly growing trend among the luxury ‘cognoscenti,’ spreading virally from one shopper-in-the-know to another. Affluent’s use of social shopping rose from only 7 percent participation in 2007 to 33 percent in 2010.
“Social shopping sites are going to continue to grow in popularity among the affluent market, especially among young affluents. They offer young affluents shopping experiences that they enjoy: quick action, limited access, and value pricing,” says Danziger. “For luxury marketers targeting young affluents, these are the places to be.”
The 59 page report, How the Affluent Luxury Consumer Uses the Internet
and Social Media: An In-Depth, is based upon a survey of 1,614 affluent
consumers (ag. income $239,300). It answers these critical questions
for luxury marketers in order to plan their online marketing
strategies, including how best to use social media for building their
brand:
How often do affluent consumers use the Internet in support of luxury
goods and services purchases, what they buy online, how much they
spend?
When do they turn to the Internet and why they use it?
What are their favorite luxury websites and what specifically do they
value about their favorite websites?
How do affluent luxury shoppers use social media to learn about luxury
brands, share information about luxury brands, and connect with people
with similar outlooks on luxury brands?
What turns them on about using the Internet for luxury purchasing and
research?
A total of 1,614 affluent consumers with incomes of $100,000 or more
and who bought luxury goods or services in the fourth quarter were
surveyed. from January 8-27, 2010. The result of this survey are
compared with findings from similar studies conducted in third quarter
of 2007 and 2005, so that four years of trends in luxury consumers use
of the Internet can be measured and tracked.
In addition, a segment of extremely active Internet shoppers, called
‘heavy users,’ have been identified in this study. A detail analysis
of their responses are included in this report.
The special investigation questions designed to help luxury marketers
and brands better use their websites to attract and retain the affluent
shoppers, included:
How affluents use the internet (e.g. shopping, researching purchases,
getting gift ideas, connecting with friend, travel plans, etc.); total
hours on a weekly basis they use the internet for personal interests
and shopping-related activities.
More about internet shopping,, such as what attracts them to a website
to shop; how much they spent online; features of importance when
shopping online; what features a website devoted to luxury brands must
offer its customers.
We asked how online shopping compares to in-store, whether the
affluents surveyed like online better than in-store or vice versa.
The results will surprise you!
On social media, we asked about whether they have profiles on any
social media site; which social media site they use most often; how
frequently they long on; how many people they are connected with; why
they use social media, such as to reconnect with old friends,
professional networking, to learn about brands/companies/products, etc.
We asked if they were connected or friends with any brand and if they
were likely to become friends in the future; about their use of
advertising on social media sites; and whether they use social shopping
sites, such as Gilt.com, Hautelook, Rue LaLa.
Demographics of those surveyed
In the survey the average age of respondents was 45.9 years and average household income was $239,300. Nearly 20% of the affluents polled were classified as ‘ultra-affluents,’ those at the top 2% of U.S. households with incomes of $250,000.
Virtually all respondents use the internet for personal uses, including shopping . Further nearly 80% of affluents are social media users.
A segment called ‘heavy-users’ were identified as important for luxury
marketers when planning internet and social media strategy. The heavy
users are affluents who used the internet for four or more hours per
week for shopping purposes. (Note: the average number of hours for all
respondents was about 4, thus the segment of heavy users are those who spent more than the average amount of time shopping on the internet.)
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- Internet climbs to tie discounters as top destination for gift shopping; Online shopping prevalent across generations
- RAMA Releases Research Profiling Habits, Preferences Of Social Media Users
