Social Class

What is Social Class?

The division of members of a society

into a hierarchy of distinct status
classes, so that members of each
class have relatively the same status
and members of all other classes
have either more or less status.
– It is a continuum without clear cut
boundaries
– No exact estimates
Social Class & Social Status

• Social Comparison Theory

– Individuals compare their own material
possessions with those owned by others in
order to determine their relative social
standing
– Upward and downward comparison
– Status is associated with purchasing power
Social Class & Social Status
• Status Consumption Concept
– The process by which consumers
endeavour to increase their social standing
through conspicuous consumption or
possessions

1. I would buy a product just because it has status.

2. I am interested in new products with status.
3. I would pay more for a product if it had status.
4. The status of a product is irrelevant to me.
5. A product is more valuable to me if it has some
snob appeal.
 Social Class Categories
• Two-category
– Blue collar, white collar
– Lower, upper
• Three-category
– Lower, middle, upper
• Four-category
– Lower, lower-middle, upper-middle, upper
• Five-category
– Lower, lower-middle, middle, upper-middle, upper
• Six-category
– Lower-lower, upper-lower, lower-middle, upper-
middle, lower-upper, upper-upper
 Social Class Stratification
• Social classes are also used to simplify
customer attitudes
• Social Classes
– Upper class 4%
– Upper Middle class 14%
– Middle class 33%
– Lower Middle class 32%
– Lower class 17%
 Social Class Characteristics

• Upper uppers – Country Club

– Small number of well established families,
inherited wealth
– Give to charity
– More than one home
– Children sent to best schools
– Market for jewelry, antiques, homes,
vacations, boats
– Conservative in dress
– Small but serve as an aspirational reference
group
 Social Class Characteristics

• Lower uppers – New Wealth

– Not quite accepted by the upper crust
– Persons (usually from middle class) who
have earned high income or wealth through
exceptional ability in their profession / biz
– Active in social and civic affairs
– Purchase status symbols for themselves
and their children
– Nouveau riche indulge in conspicuous
consumption to impress those below them
 Social Class Characteristics

• Upper middles – Achieving Professionals

– Neither high family status or unusual wealth
– More concerned with career
– Professionals, independent businessmen,
corporate managers
– Believe in education and want children to
acquire professional / administrative skills
– Civic minded and home oriented
– Market for good homes, clothes, furniture
 Social Class Characteristics

• Middle class – Faithful Followers

– Average pay white / blue collar workers
– Want to achieve respectability and be
perceived as good citizens
– Buy popular products to keep up with
trends, but avoid faddish behavior
– Believe in spending money on ‘worthwhile
experiences’
– Believe in education for their children
 Social Class Characteristics

• Working class / lower middle class

– Largest segment
– Blue collar workers
– Sharp sex-role divisions and stereotyping
– Government education for children
– Not poverty stricken but face economic
hardships
 Example

• The following classifications are a

hypothetical social class stratification
used for the housing industry in Nepal
 Class Profiling

• Upper class
– Already own a house
– In the market for investment / more relaxed
lifestyle
– Require space, utilities, and comfort
– Willing to pay premium for aesthetics &
workmanship
– No compromise on lifestyle
 Class Profiling

• Upper middle class

– Already own a house in / out of Kathmandu
– In the market for permanent residence /
investment / upgrading lifestyle
– Require enough space, comfort, security
– Willing to pay premium on visible benefits
– Willing to compromise on facilities
 Class Profiling

• Middle class
– Price most important factor
– Extra facilities and aesthetics are not very
important
– Dual family units (units with separate
kitchens and entrance) attractive for this
segment
Measurement of Social Class
 Subjective Measures

• Individuals are asked to estimate their

own social class positions
• Which one of the following
categories best describes your
social class?
– Lower class
– Lower-middle class
– Upper-middle class
– Upper class
 Reputational Measures

• Selected community informants make

initial judgements concerning the social
class membership of others within the
community
 Objective Measures

• Individuals are assessed on selected

demographic and socio-economic
variables which are then transposed on
the respective class that the variable-
composites would fall into
– Single-variable index
• Income or Occupation or Education
– Composite-variable index
• Index of Social Characteristics (ISC)
• Socio-economic Index Scores (SES)
 Composite-variable index

• Index of Social Characteristics (ISC)

– Weighted index of socioeconomic variables
– occupation, source (not amount) of
income, house type, dwelling area (quality
of neighbourhood)
• Socio-economic Index Scores (SES)
– Combination of the three basic
socioeconomic variables – occupation,
family income, educational attainment
Criteria for Classification - Nepal
• Income
– Both amount and source of income need to be considered
– Income alone is not enough to move in social classes – not
only in Nepal
– Think. If a taxi driver and bank officer both earn Rs15,000 a
month, can they be said to be in the same social class?
Will their spending patterns be the same?
• Occupation
• Education
• Ownership of property
• Social Caste
Marketing Applications
 Brand Image
• Marketers need to be careful how they
target different social classes
– Entry level X-Type Jaguar drove loyalty
rates from 85% to 38%
– Transformation of New Road from ‘the’
shopping center to a middle class
destination
• Can also use class aspirations to
increase / maintain status of their
brands
– Surya Classic, Surya 24 Carat
Clothing, Fashion, Shopping

• What they buy?

– Big name logos Vs subtle elegance
• Where they buy?
– Bluebird, Durbar Marg, City Center
– New Road, Putali Sadak???
– Neighbourhood stores in Patan, Chabahil,
Kalanki
– Reluctance to use banks and dept stores
 The Pursuit of Leisure
• Choice of sport
– Who plays what sport?
– Golf / polo / football / cricket / wrestling?
• Choice of entertainment
– TV channels, books and magazines,
entertainment venues (where do you hang
out?), activities
• Choice of vacations
– Africa safari, Europe
– US / Australia
– Bangkok and Asia
 Communication

• Selective exposure
– Within a medium
• Television programmes
• Magazine/newspaper types, sections
– Across mediums
• Selection patterns spread across television, print
media, radio, etc.
Thank You!