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March 5, 2006
Online Shopping Goes "Mainstream" among Affluent Households
By Tara Regan
Online shopping is not just for Gen X and Y, according to a Time Online Poll of 603 affluent households nationally. A vast majority (95%) of affluent adults, of virtually all ages, have made an online purchase in the past 12 months.
The median household income for respondents in this Time Online Poll was $206,300, with a minimum household income of $150,000.
The most popular items purchased online are books and clothing/accessories (both 68%). Other frequently mentioned items include music (54%) and electronics (50%).
Although online shopping is just as popular now in college dormitories as senior centers, gender and age seem to play a role in which specific items are more frequently purchased online:
- Women are more likely than men to make online purchases of books (73% - 64%), clothing (74% - 63%), toys (41% - 24%) and furniture (35% - 23%). Men are more likely to buy electronics (58% - 42%) and automotive products (21% - 7%) online.
- Younger affluents, under age 50, are more likely to make clothing (73% - 62%) and music (62% - 43%) purchases online compared to those age 50 plus. However, those over 50 are more likely to buy food (30%-22%) and drugstore products (29%-22%) online compared to those under age 50.
(Base: 603 Affluent Adults) |
||||||
Total (%) |
Male (%) |
Female (%) |
18-39 (%) |
40-49 (%) |
50+ (%) |
|
| Any Purchase | ||||||
| Books | ||||||
| Clothing/Accessories | ||||||
| Music | ||||||
| Electronics | ||||||
| Toys | ||||||
| Furniture and Décor | ||||||
| Food | ||||||
| Drugstore Products | ||||||
| Automotive | ||||||
| Other | ||||||
Clothing and Accessories Purchased Online
Furthermore, affluents estimate that about one-quarter (25%) of their clothing and accessory purchases were made on the internet in the past 12 months. The most popular of these items bought online include clothing (78%), shoes (45%), beauty, grooming and fragrance products (36%) and jewelry (25%).
Brands: Which are the "best"
Clothing
Putting price aside, the clothing brand most frequently cited the "best" among affluents is Ralph Lauren (15%) followed by Brooks Brothers (12%). Other top mentions include Armani (11%) and Ann Taylor (7%).
- Men consider Brooks Brothers (22%) to be the best clothing brand followed by Ralph Lauren (15%) and Armani (12%). There is a bit less consistency among women with the top clothing picks going to Ralph Lauren (14%), Ann Taylor (12%), Armani (10%) and Chanel (7%).
Automotive
In the automotive category, Mercedes (22%), Lexus (16%) and BMW (15%) lead the pack as best brand, regardless of gender, age and relative income.
Beauty/Grooming
Among beauty and grooming brands, Clinique (11%) leads as "best" brand closely followed by Neutrogena (10%), Lancome (9%), Estee Lauder (9%) and Aveda (9%).
- The top grooming brands among men are Neutrogena and Gillette (both 12%), followed by Giorgio Armani (10%), Estee Lauder and Aveda (both 9%). Women rank Clinique and Lancome best (both 14%) followed by Estee Lauder, Aveda (both 10%) and Neutrogena (9%).
- Age and income seem to play a slight role for recognition among two beauty products:
- MAC Cosmetics is singled out more among those age 18-39, compared to those age 40 and over (12% - 3%). Similarly Aveda is mentioned more frequently as a "best" brand among those age 18-49 compared to those 50 and older (12% - 5%).
- For those with household income $300,000 plus, MAC (16%) and Aveda (11%) are considered the two "best" beauty brands. For those with income between $150-299K, Aveda (9%) and MAC (4%) enjoy less recognition.
Most Extravagant Luxury Item
Almost all (97%) who reported purchasing an "extravagant" luxury item in the last 12 months said they were happy with their purchase. Very few (3%) regretted buying their luxury item.
New cars and jewelry lead the pack in terms of the most extravagant luxury items purchased. These include:
- "2005 S-Type Jaguar,"
- "18k gold Tiffany ring,"
- "Porsche 911 Cabriolet,"
- "Mikimoto pearls,"
- "2006 Escalade," and
- "Diamond tennis bracelets and engagement rings"
Other frequent mentions include:
- watches (particularly Rolex watches),
- clothing items (including Armani and Brioni suits),
- designer handbags (Prada and Louis Vuitton mentioned) and
- plasma and high definition televisions ("Sony 32'' HDTV" and "60'' flat screen TV").
Some more unique respondent mentions for recent extravagant purchases include:
- "1/6 ounce pheromone"
- "a potter's wheel"
- "a handmade corset with steel boning"
- "laser treatments for face"
Shopping Trends: Battle of the Sexes
Although overall, a little more than half (56%) say they shop "only when a specific item is needed," compared to those who enjoy shopping "even just to browse" (44%)-
- women are more like than men to enjoy "browsing"
(58% women - 31% men) while - men are more likely to shop only when necessary
(69% men - 42% women).
Both men and women however, tend to prefer equally (42%) shopping for clothing/accessories compared to shopping for home furnishing. About one-third (34%) prefer clothing shopping and about one-quarter (24%) prefer home décor shopping.
How Often?
Whether it's in stores or online, women go shopping for clothing and accessories more frequently than men:
- In stores: Almost 3-in-5 women (59%) go shopping in stores once a month or more compared to 39% of men. A little more than one-in-ten (13%) of women go shopping once a week or more compared to 6% of men.
- Online: A little less than half (46%) of women go shopping online for clothing and accessories once a month or more compared to 28% of men. Almost three-quarters (72%) of men shop online less than once a month compared to 54% of women.
Accessories
Women are more likely than men to have more shoes, and of course, handbags:
- A majority (63%) of men own 10 pairs of shoes or less with the average being 12 pairs of shoes. A large majority (82%) of women on the other hand, own 11 pairs of shoes or more with the average being 27 pairs of shoes. Two-in-five (19%) women confess to having more than 50 pairs of shoes, compared to only 4% of men.
- About one-third (34%) of affluent women own more than 10 handbags, with the average being 7. This figure increases with household income:
- About half (51%) of women with household income of $300K or more report 10 or more handbags compared to 30% of women with income between $150-299K.
Spending
Although a majority say they spent "about the same" in 2005 compared to 2004 on various clothing, accessory and beauty items, about one quarter report spending more money, especially on clothing (27% report spending "more"):
Did You Spend... (Base: 603 Affluent Adults) |
|||
(%) |
(%) |
(%) |
|
| Clothing | 27 |
17 |
56 |
| Jewelry | 24 |
23 |
53 |
| Beauty/Grooming Products | 22 |
7 |
72 |
| Accessories | 17 |
18 |
65 |
- Women, on average, spend more annually on clothing ($2,197 women - $1,867 men), beauty/grooming products ($749 - $594) and accessories ($866 - $706). Men tend to spend more annually on jewelry (including watches) than women ($1409 - $1297). One has to wonder who benefits more from that!
However, when asked the most ever spent on various items, men out-spend women in almost every area with the exception of handbags with fairly equal spending on beauty and grooming products:
Spent on Each of the Following... Means (including None) |
|||
(Avg $) |
(Avg $) |
(Avg $) |
|
| Jewelry | 1184 |
1251 |
1117 |
| Clothing Item | 735 |
780 |
690 |
| Handbag | 275 |
262 |
288 |
| Pair of Shoes | 228 |
257 |
200 |
| Beauty/Grooming Product | 154 |
153 |
156 |
Age and household income play a role in spending patterns:
- Affluents age 18-39 spent more particularly on jewelry ($1721 - $1318) and beauty products ($892 - $595) in 2005 compared to those age 50 and older.
- $300,000 in household income seems to be the threshold in terms of affluent spending. Those with $300K or more in household income spent significantly more especially in terms of clothing ($3503 - $1864) and jewelry ($2852 - $1259) compared to those with between $150-299K in household income.
Means (including None) |
|||||||
Total (Avg $) |
18-39 (Avg $) |
40-49 (Avg $) |
50+ (Avg $) |
$150-$199K Income (Avg $) |
$200-$299K Income (Avg $) |
$300K+ Income (Avg $) |
|
| Clothing | |||||||
| Jewelry | |||||||
| Accessories | |||||||
| Beauty/Grooming Products | |||||||
The "Where" for "Wear"
Most do their shopping in department stores (39%), followed by chain retail stores (25%) and the internet (12%). Other mentions include outlet stores (11%) and boutiques (7%).
- Those with household income of $300K plus are more likely "to pay retail" compared to those with income between $150-299K, with greater amounts shopping at department stores (50% - 37%) and boutiques (13% - 6%) and fewer shopping at outlet stores (3% - 12%).
One of the most important criteria to affluents in deciding where to shop for clothing and accessories is the brands the stores carries (40%), followed by prices (36%). Not surprisingly, the greater the household income, the even more important role brand plays over price.
In terms of getting ideas for new clothes and accessories, the most frequently mentioned sources are:
- Browsing at stores (36%)
- Seeing what other people are wearing (19%)
- Catalogs (13%)
- Fashion magazines (12%)
Methodology
This Time Magazine Poll of affluent adults was conducted via the Internet January 12-17, 2006 by Schulman, Ronca, & Bucuvalas, Inc. Public Affairs. A total of 603 interviews were conducted among a national sample of adults age 18 years or older with household income of at least $150,000. The median household income was $206,300.
The margin of error for the entire sample is approximately +/- 4 percentage points. The margin of error is higher for subgroups. Surveys are subject to other error sources as well, including sampling coverage error, non-response bias, recording error, and respondent error.
The full Time questionnaire and trend data may be found in the related link below.
Related Link
