Social Class And Consumer

Behavior
What is Social Class?

The Measurement of Social Class

Characteristics Affecting
Consumer Behavior
Culture
Social
Personal
Psychological
Buyer
Buyer
 The division of members
of a society into a
hierarchy of distinct status
Social Class classes, so that members
of each class have either
higher or lower status
than members of other
classes.
 Social Comparison Theory
Individuals quite often compare their own material
possessions with those owned by others in order to
determine their social standing.
• Individuals with more purchasing power or greater
ability to make purchases have more status and vice –
versa.
•Key ingredient in status is individuals possession
compared with others similar possessions(comparison
of one’s home with others).
•While making such comparison an individual makes
comparison with other person who is worse off in order
to support his self esteem.
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 Dynamics of Status Consumption
Status Consumption: Process by which consumers
tend to increase their status to increase their social
standing through conspicuous consumption and
possession. It is very important for luxury goods
Five-Question Status Consumption Scale
1. I would buy a product just because it has status.
2. I am interested in new product with status.
3. I would pay more for a product if it had status.
4. The status of a product irrelevant to me.
5. A product is more valuable to me if it has some
appealing features.
 Hierarchy of Social Class
Upper class
Attend Elite schools, Highly cultured.

Upper-middle class (Professional class, Cultural protectors)

Professionals, Independent business people, Corporate
Executives.

Lower-middle class
Salespeople, clerical workers, Supervisors, Construction
Contractors, “white collar”

Upper-lower class

Skilled and semi-skilled blue-collar workers.

Lower class

Lower blue-collar workers, the unemployed, families on

welfare and unskilled workers
 Social Class Is Hierarchal
Status is frequently thought of as the relative rankings of
members of each social class ranging from low to high
status.
Members of a particular social class(eg: upper lower class)
may aspire to advance their social class by emulating the
behavior of middle class.
To accomplish this task they read magazines, visit museums,
advance their education so that they can observe middle
class behavior.
Various social class provides market segmentation for
various products and services.
 Percent Distribution of Five-Category
Social-Class Measure
SOCIAL CLASSES PERCENTAGE
U SOCIAL CLASSES PERCENTAGE
Upper 4.3
Upper-middle 13.8
Middle 32.8
Working 32.3
Lower 16.8
Total percentage 100.0
L 13.8
Middle 32.8
Working 32.3
Lower 16.8
Total percentage 100.0
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 Retail stores have a social status

Product Involvement: Many consumers value

Social Class Membership

Members of the same social class tend to share

common values, beliefs, and behaviors that unite them.

 Common factors used to place people into different

social classes:
occupation, source of income, possessions,
associations with others, and level of influence
 Occupation
What a person does
for a living.

It is an indicator
of other signs of class
membership: income,
personal associations,
and status.

Further, class
assumptions within an
occupation may be
based on performance
level.
 Income Source
• Level of income is not by itself a good indicator of
social class of a person.
• Source of income may be due to investments,
inheritance, old wealth, etc.

• Income source along with Occupation may help us to

determine whether two individuals that have the same
income belong in the same class.
 Associations
Consumption patterns and interaction
networks are inherently linked.

People tend to associate with others that share

the same tastes and recreational activities.

Class consciousness – Sense of belonging to a

certain class is reinforced by associations.
Higher is the class the more is the class
consciousness.
 Level of Influence
• Membership in a higher
class generally leads to
greater influence within
the workplace,
organizations, and society
as a whole.
• The more responsibility
one has the greater the
influence s/he can exert
on others.
 Values, Attitudes and Lifestyles across
Social Classes
 Social class is an important
source of beliefs, values,
and behaviors

 Different social classes value education differently.

 Attitudes toward family life,

raising children, the role of
women, etc. vary from class
to class.

 People in various social

classes exhibit markedly
different lifestyles.
 Social Class Measurement
Subjective Measures
Individuals are asked to estimate their own social-class
positions.
Reputational Measures
Community 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.
 Subjective Measure
• In the subjective measure approach, individuals are
asked to measure their own social class positions.
• This classification of social class is based on the self
perception or self images and is related to product
consumption and usage.
• This measure of social class tend to produce
overabundance of people who classify them as
middle class.
• According to “Life of a Nation "survey in
Japan, today close to Ninety percent people
categorize themselves as middle class.