SOCIAL CLASS AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Some form of class structure or social stratification has existed in all

societies throughout human history. In contemporary societies, an indication
that social classes exist is the common reality that people who are better
educated or have more prestigious occupations, such as physician or lawyer,
are often more highly valued than truck drivers and farmhands. In this
chapter, we will examine the nature of social class, the variables and
methods used to measure social class, and the various social class groups in
the society.

A consumer's social class refers to his or her standing in society. It is

determined by a number of factors, including education, occupation and
income.
Virtually all groups make distinctions among members in terms of relative
superiority, power and access to valued resources. This social stratification
creates a status hierarchy, in which some goods are preferred over others
and are used to categorize their owners' social class.
While income is an important indicator of social class, the relationship is far
from perfect since social class is also determined by such factors as place of
residence, cultural interests and world-view.
Purchase decisions are sometimes influenced by the desire to buy up to a
higher social class or to engage in the process of conspicuous consumption,
where one's status is flaunted by the deliberate and non-constructive use of
valuable resources. This spending pattern is characteristic of the
ostentatious riches, whose relatively recent acquisition of wealth, rather than
ancestry or breeding, is responsible for their increased social mobility.
Products often are used as status symbols to communicate real or desired
social class. Parody display occurs when consumers seek status by
deliberately avoiding fashionable products.
Different societies have different strata, which may vary from as low as two
to as high as nine or ten. Most societies have three broad social classes -
upper class, middle class, and lower class. People belonging to one particular
class can move to other classes, willingly or unwillingly, in an open society.
Such moves can significantly affect their consumption behavior. Consumer
tastes and preferences are influenced greatly by consumer socialization, as
well as economic, social, and cultural capital.

Marketers generally focus on affluent consumers, but recent trends have

shown increasing penetration in middle and lower social classes. Many
products and services are used by people as indicators of their social
standing and are known as status symbols
 Shopping Behavior and Social Classes
Shopping behavior varies by social class. For example, a very close relation
between store choice and social-class membership has been found,
indicating that it is wrong to assume that all consumers want to shop at
glamorous, high-status stores. Instead, people realistically match their
values and expectations with a store's status and don't shop in stores where
they feel out of place.
Thus, no matter what the store, each shopper generally has some idea of the
social-status ranking of that store and will tend not to patronize those where
they feel they do not "fit," in a social-class sense. The result is that the same
products and brands may be purchased in different outlets by members of
different social classes. Therefore, an important function of retail advertising
is to allow the shopper to make a social-class identification of stores. This is
done from the tone and physical character of the advertising.
One research study of the shopping behavior of a group of urban groups has
provided a number of valuable insights into the influence of social class on
the shopping process:
• Most groups enjoy shopping regardless of their social class; however,
reasons for enjoyment differ. All classes enjoy the recreational and social
aspects of shopping, as well as being exposed to new things, bargain
hunting, and comparing merchandise. However, lower classes found
acquiring new clothes or household items more enjoyable, while upper-
middles and above more frequently specified a pleasant store atmosphere,
display, and excitement.
• Middle and upper-class groups shopped more frequently than those in the
lower class.
• The higher a group’s social class the more they considered it important to
shop quickly.
• Middle and working classes had a greater tendency to browse without
buying anything.
• The lower the social status, the greater the proportion of downtown
shopping.
• A greater percentage of lower-class groups favored discount stores than
did groups in the middle or upper classes. The attraction to high-fashion
stores was directly related to social class. Broad-appeal stores were more
attractive to the middle class.
Let us examine more closely the nature of social-class variations in shopping
patterns in order to better understand marketing-strategy decisions.
Uppers and Upper-Middles. This group organize shopping more purposefully
and efficiently than those of lower status. They tend to be more
knowledgeable about what they want, where and when to shop for it; their
shopping is both selective and wide-ranging. These consumers are more
likely to search for information prior to purchase. They are more likely to
read brochures, newspapers, and test reports before buying appliances.
There is also an emphasis by this group on the store environment. Stores
must be clean, orderly, and reflect good taste. Moreover, they must be
staffed with clerks who are not only well-versed in their particular product
line, but also well aware of their customers' status. This attitude indicates a
leaning toward urban and suburban specialty stores and away from larger,
more general outlets. For example, this group have been characterized as
usually buying most of their public appearance clothes at specialty shops or
in specialty departments of the town's best department stores.
Middle Class. Groups of this class "work" more at their shopping. They exhibit
more anxiety, particularly when purchasing nonfoods, which they feel can be
a demanding and tedious process filled with uncertainty. They are value-
conscious and try to seek out the best buy for the money. Such an
orientation would indicate a strong tendency to patronize discount houses.
Working Class. Because of this group's strong concern with personal
relationships, there is a tendency to shop along known, local friendship lines.
This attitude also explains their loyalty to certain stores in which they feel at
home. One study describes situations in which lower-status groups who
shopped in high-status department stores felt clerks and higher-class
customers in the store "punished" them in various subtle ways. One group
expressed their feeling that in a higher-status store "the clerks treat you like
a crumb”. Another related how they had vainly tried to be waited on, finally
to be told, "We thought you were a clerk”.
The working classes buy with less pre-purchase deliberation than do middle
and upper classes. They are much more likely to use in-store information
sources, such as displays and salespeople. The reutilized nature of their
shopping suggests for the marketer an emphasis on the use of enticing
point-of-purchase displays and easy availability of items. It is clear that this
group is a prime target for discount houses, and in fact it has been a potent
force in the development of suburban discount retailing.
Lower Americans. This group is one that buys largely on impulse. This
tendency results in the necessity to rely heavily on credit, since money that
might have been spent for big-ticket items has been drained off in impulse
buying of small things. At the same time, however, these people can be poor
credit risks because of their low-income status. This often forces them into a
pattern of dealing with local merchants who offer tailor-made (yet
sometimes quite exorbitant) credit terms.
MUSTAFA SALEEM
MBA 4-B