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Life Cycle Concept in Marketing Research

Author(s): William D. Wells and George Gubar


Source: Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 3, No. 4 (Nov., 1966), pp. 355-363
Published by: American Marketing Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3149851
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Life Cycle Concept in Marketing Research
WILLIAM D. WELLS
and
GEORGE GUBAR*

>This article reviews the ways "life cycle position"has been used as an independent
variable in marketingresearch.

In the United States today most households pass "The Life Cycle and ConsumerBehavior"was the
throughan orderlyprogressionof stages: organizingtheme of an importantconferenceheld at
1. The bachelorstage; young, single people. Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1954. Since several of the
2. Newlymarriedcouples;young,no children. papersgiven at that conferenceare still amongthe most
3. The full nest I; young married couples with useful on this topic, they, along with several other
dependent children. papers,are reportedherein some detail.
a. youngestchild undersix. In "ConsumerFinancesOverthe Life Cycle"Lansing
b. youngestchildsix or over. and Morgan[9] describedhow income, expenditureson
4. The full nest II; older married couples with durablegoods, assets and debts, and subjectivefeelings
dependent children. about financial position differ at different life cycle
5. The empty nest; older marriedcouples with no stages. Although the data they used are now over 10
childrenlivingwiththem. years old, evidence cited later in this article indicates
a. headin laborforce. thatthe majorfindingsaretruetoday.
b. head retired. Lansing and Morgan pointed out that the average
6. The solitarysurvivors;older single people. household'stotal income increasesuntil the household
a. in laborforce. head is in his late fortiesand then declines.There is an
b. retired. importantinterruptionin this trend, however, among
Adaptedfrom [5, 6 and9]. young marriedcouples with children under six years
These stages are so obviously related to important old. At this stage,when the wives who have been work-
changes in purchasingbehavior that they have some- ing quit, there is an overall drop in median income of
timesbeen used alongwith, or in place of, chronological roughlyten percent.This means that householdsin the
age in analyzingsurvey data. This article reviews the preceding stage-the young households with working
uses of the life cycle concept and reassertsthe value of wives-are better off financiallythan they will be for
usinglife cycle as an independentvariable. quite some time and are thereforelikely to be particu-
larly good prospectsfor a varietyof goods and services.
LIFE CYCLE DESCRIPTIONS OF CONSUMER Several other income changes should be noted. At
BEHAVIOR later stagesin the life cycle some wives go back to work,
and some older childrenget jobs that contributeto the
Although the life cycle concept is relativelynew in total family income. Also, in later years, income from
marketingresearch,it is not new in sociology.It is to be propertyand from pensions, annuities,unemployment
found in the Systematic Source Book in Rural Sociology
compensation,etc. rises sharply. These changes and
published in 1931 [16], and in several other studies the fact that savings and durablegoods have accumu-
publishedin the 1930's [8, 10, 17]. More recently,it lated, mean that in later stages of the life cycle the
has appearedin Duvall's Family Development[2] and
Glick's AmericanFamilies [4]. These descriptionsand family's resourcesare likely to be significantlygreater
discussionsof the life cycle do not focus on consumer than would be expected based on the income of the
household head.
behavior,but are helpful becausethey fill the life cycle The uses to which income is put show some major
categorieswith people and events. They thereforepro-
vide the backgroundfor more market-orientedwork. changes by life cycle stage. Young, childless couples
are especiallylikely to buy a car if one of them does
* William D. Wells is professor of psychology and market-
not have a car already.When the children arrive, re-
ing, Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago.
George Gubar is assistant professor of psychology, Seton Hall placementcar buyingis likely to be postponed.New car
University, Paterson, New Jersey. The preparation of this buying, therefore,reachesit peak among families with
article was sponsoredby Benton & Bowles, Inc. childrensix and over.Home ownershipcomes still later.
355

Journal of Marketing Research,


Vol. III (November 1966), 355-63
356 JOURNALOF MARKETING NOVEMBER
RESEARCH, 1966

The proportionof home purchasersis greatest among decor become more importantthan sturdinessand low
young married couples with young children, but the cost. With the peers comingin, the family needs to put
proportionowningkeeps rising until it reachesits peak up a good front room. For working class parents,the
amongoldermarriedcoupleswith no childrenunder18. second stage of furniturebuying may be delayed until
A refrigeratorand a stove, in that order, are important all the childrenhave left home. For these families also
purchasesat early stages of the life cycle. Substantial the emphasisis now on attractivenessand compatibility
proportionsof young marriedcouples withoutchildren with existing decor rather than durability.With the
buy these applianceseven though home ownershipat children gone, even comparativelyfragile things may
this stage is not high. Young marriedcoupleswith chil- last.
dren are major purchasersof televisions and washing In "TheLife Cycle and BuyingPatterns,"[1] another
machinesfor obviousreasons. paper given at the 1954 Michiganconference,Barton
The abovechangesin incomeand purchasingmake it describedlife cycle changesin purchasesof nondurable
easy to understandthe changes in liquid assets and items. Sincemost of the items he discussedare used up
debts,andthe changesin satisfactionwith one'sfinancial rapidly,while durablegoodsbridgelife cycle stagesonce
positionthat occurfrom stage to stage in the life cycle. they are bought,it would be reasonableto expect that
Liquid assets take a sharp drop when the childrenare purchasesof nondurableswould be even more sensitive
young. The wife is not bringinga paycheckhome, and than durablegoods purchasesto changes in life cycle
many things must be bought. But liquid assets rise stage. It would also be reasonableto expect that a finer
steadilyfromthen until one of the couple dies. Personal division of life cycle stages would be more useful for
debtis highestamongyoungcoupleswithchildrenunder locatingthe primepurchaseperiod.
six, whilemortgagedebt reachesits peak at a later stage Barton reported that purchases of prepared baby
becausethe peak of home ownershipcomes later. food areheaviestby motherswhosebabieswerebetween
As would be expectedon the basis of these changes, six and 18 months,and that first-bornbabies are fed an
satisfaction with one's standard of living and with averageof 50 percentmore processedbaby foods than
amount of money saved drops sharply when lowered are later babies of the same age. He also reportedthat
income and the high cost of nest-buildingconfront familieswith childrenundersix are heavy consumersof
couples with young children. Satisfaction with both chest rubs,cough syrups-especially prescriptioncough
standardof living and amountof money savedincreases syrups-and manyotherdrugs.
as the childrenget older.And it reachesa peak afterthe He reportedthat bland cereals like puffed rice are
childrenleavehome. preferred by children under six, that presweetened
Lansingand Morganpresenteda pictureof a predict- cereals are most popularin the 6-12 age group, and
able trend throughtime resultingfrom the interplayof that wheat cereals and corn flakes "hit their stride"in
several distinctfactors.Basic to this trend is a gradual the 13-20 agebracket.
increase in the earningpower of the household head. Childrenare also importantto the detergentmarket.
This increasehas relativelylittle to do with his position Addinga child to a familyincreasesthe consumptionof
in the life cycle since it is a matter of accumulated soap aboutas much as addingan adultdoes, but adding
seniorityand experience.But the demandsplacedon his a child to a family makes a much bigger differencein
income by durable goods purchases are very much consumptionof packagedetergent.Apparentlychildren
related to life cycle position. Life cycle would, there- do not wash much more than adults do, but they are
fore, seem to be a more sensitive indicator of the very good at getting their clothes, and possibly their
family'sfinancialsituationthanwouldchronologicalage. parents'clothesdirty.
A reporton "FurnitureBuying and the Life Stages" Bartonmadefurtherobservationsaboutthe unfolding
prepared by Social Research Incorporated for the life cycle: Girlsin theirlate teens and earlytwentiesare
Kroehler ManufacturingCompany [15] supplements a primarymarketfor lower to medium-pricedcosmetics,
these findingsby showingthat interestin furniturebuy- for home permanents,and for shampoo.He comments,
ing is highestduringtwo separatelife cycle stages, and "thecleanerand shinierthe hair,the betterhusbandyou
that the type of furniturebought is differentfrom one get or keep." (It mightbe addedthat Katz and Lazars-
stage to the other. The first high-intereststage is "dur- feld [7] foundthat youngwomenin this age bracketare
ing the early years of marriage,when the couple must the fashionopinionleaders.)Young housewivestend to
acquire enough furniture to satisfy its basic living buy prominently advertised products, products in
needs."At this stage the young family"placesrelatively smallersizes and packages,and new productsjust to try
greateremphasison sensibilityand practicalitythan on them out. Olderhousewives,havinglargerfamilies and
style andbeauty." more money to spend, are more likely than younger
The second stage occurs, for middle class parents, housewivesto buy largersize packagesandmultiple-unit
when their children (especially their daughters)have price reductions.They are the big chain store buyers,
startedto party and date. At that stage attractiveness, and, being more experienced,they are the "toughest
reflectionof good taste, and compatibilitywith existing groupto influenceby sheer weightof advertising."
LIFECYCLECONCEPTIN MARKETING
RESEARCH 357

In the age group over 55 there are increasingex- differencebetween the social classes in the acquisition
pendituresfor drugs and medical care for adults, and and meaningof the standardpackage.Before marriage
for productslike brancereals,Postumand decaffeinated the young workingclass man has plenty of disposable
coffee that aid "health,sleep and easy digestion."With income. He may "wellindulgein tailor-madesuits, ex-
the childrenleavinghome, membersof this groupshow pensivewhiskies,andhigh-pricedrestaurantsif they also
an increasedinterestin travel,recreation,and self-educa- are not high falutin."He is "alwaysmore object than
tion. With retirementand perhapswith the death of the experience-oriented,with fun correlatedwith expendi-
spouse, people in the final stage of the life cycle have a ture of money." This period ends with marriage.The
specialneed for companionship,attention,affection,and young workingclass man must then pay for furniture
security. They are therefore "a primary target for and appliances, a home or an apartment."Over a
dancingclasses,clubs,welfarepropositionsand specula- period of time he becomes more and more engrossed
tions." and expert in the 'consumption'of these hard com-
Like the purchasingpattern for durables, the pur- modities and the recreation-orientationslowly subsides
chasingpatternfor nondurablesappearsto be the result underthe pressureof familyobligationsand the nagging
of two distinct sets of forces. The accumulatedpur- of his wife."Althoughthe workingclass man returnsto
chasingexperienceof the olderhousewife,which makes the pursuitof recreation(especiallytravel and sports)
her less responsiveto advertisingand less interestedin once the most insistentdemandsof nest-buildinghave
tryingout new products,is a directfunctionof her age. been met, as a homeownerhe will continuallyinvolve
But the specific types of products she buys and her himself in do-it-yourselfrepairof the durablegoods in
greaterfinancialresourcesare the direct result of her the home.
family's position in the life cycle. Again, life cycle For the workingclass girl, high school graduationis
would seem to present a more sensitive classification an ominousevent.It signalsthe end of a pleasantround
systemthanchronologicalage. of partiesanddates and opens the "unromanticprospect
Barton'sassertionthat older housewivesare less in- of an earlymarriage."Workexperience,school, and the
fluenced by advertising and less interested in new mass media will have taught her to be experience-
productsis supportedby evidence from several other oriented, rather than object-orientedin her marriage,
sources.Katz and Lazarsfeldfound that youngerhouse- while, becauseof his job, his avocationsand his do-it-
wives with large families are most interestedin getting yourself activities, her husband will always be less
andgivingmarketingadvice[7]. interestedin experiencesand more interestedin objects.
The papers reviewed above presented analyses of By contrast, the middle-managerialgroups "take a
purchasingdata, mainly.The last paperto be reviewed, good deal longerthan the workingclassesto acquirethe
given by Riesman and Roseboroughat the Michigan full domesticpackage."They are ambivalentabout ac-
conference [14], presented "a congeries of questions, quiring too many things because they know they are
impressions,and more or less educatedguessesconcern- likely to be moved as the husband progressesin his
ing the life cycle of consumptionin America."The fol- career.They are reluctantto settle down in a neighbor-
lowingstatementsshouldthereforebe placedsomewhere hood which may contain the wrong kind of Joneses as
between"medium-soft"hypothesesand "medium-hard" the husband progresses in the company. And they
facts. hesitate to buy furnishingswhich might place them at
Riesman and Roseborough began by contrasting a status level below that which the husbandwill even-
parents and television commercialson one hand with tually reach. While progressingthroughhis career, the
peers and movies on the other as media by which chil- middle-management man must keep an eye on the con-
dren learn about consumption. They asserted that sumptionpatterns his peers and his superiors.He
of
parentsand TV commercialsteach childrenabout "the must not hurt his chances by failing to keep up with
goal directedelementsof consumption,"thatis, the exist- his level in the company, but he must not excel the
ence and function of products.Peers and movies teach boss.
children about the symbolic values of products, "the Since a man'smove up is almostalwaysa geographic
expressiveelements in consumption,the affective em- one, his wife and childrenmust also stay readyto make
broidery" of product use. Thus, parents and TV com- a physicalchange and a change in life style. They can-
mercials teach children the practical, utilitarian values of not get too attached to their neighborboods or their
cars, foods, beverages, appliances, while peers and schools, and the wife in particular must learn in advance
movies (in which products serve as props) teach chil- the consumption patterns of the next step up. The physi-
dren product-use manners and mannerisms. Among cal change is easy because the standard package is so
them, these media teach children to expect to possess "standard." In every part of the country and in every
and to know how to use the "standard package" of neighborhood into which the family would be likely to
consumer goods-"furniture, radios, television, refrig- move, most people have most of the same things. The
erator, and the standard brands of food and clothing." required change in life style is greatly aided, in fact is
Riesman and Roseborough said there is a qualitative made possible by what Riesman and Roseborough called
358 JOURNALOF MARKETING NOVEMBER
RESEARCH, 1966

"anticipatorysocialization."At every age level and in the "youngestchild undersix" group,while TV buy-
every status level the mass media provide a pattern ing hits its peak there. In the Lansing and Kish com-
fromwhichthe upwardlymobileindividualcan learnthe parisonslife cycle wins hands down.
appropriatemannersand mannerismsbefore the move These observationsare largely confirmedby more
takes place. recentdata from the Surveyof ConsumerFinances [6].
One does not have to agreewith all of Riesmanand In the report of the 1963 survey, several tables show
Roseborough's"impressionsand more or less educated both age and life cycle. Whenboth are shown,life cycle
guesses"to see that this kind of analysisis valuableas a is nearlyalwaysmoreinformative.
supplementto strongerdata on consumerbehavior.It Some of these comparisonsare summarizedin Table
helps fill the void made by nothingbut statistics,and it 1. Since income data from the 1962 survey are given
provides some meaningfulhypotheses about why the by age only, and income data from the 1963 surveyare
changes occur. given by life cycle only, a comparisonof data from the
Hypotheseslike these also suggestthat more imagina- sameyearis impossible.However,the data from adjoin-
tive analyses of standardmarketingdata might easily ing years show the patternLansingand Kish had noted.
and profitablybe made. For instance,if it is true that The age data give the impressionof an uninterrupted
managerial-class families"takea good deal longerthan rise through the late forties, followed by relatively
the workingclasses to acquirethe full domestic pack- gradualdecline.The life cycle data show the drop that
age,"it is importantto separatethe classeswhen analyz- comes when the wife quits work and the very sharp
ing purchasesby either age or life cycle. If the classes decline that comes with retirement.The life cycle data
are in fact permanentlyout of phase in theirpurchasing also show that marriedpeople have much higherfamily
activities, throwing them together can only blur the incomes than single people in the 45 and over group,
picture. Unhappily, the normal market analysis is both whenthe househouldhead is in the laborforce and
usuallydonejust one variableat a time. when he or she is retired. This noteworthyfact is of
coursenot apparentfromage dataalone.
DIRECT COMPARISONS BETWEEN LIFE The data on housing status confirmthe observation
CYCLE AND AGE madeby LansingandMorganin 1955 thathomeowner-
ship reachesits maximumcomparativelylate in life-
The papers reviewed so far suggest that life cycle in the 45-54 age group when the childrenhave left
oughtto be a more sensitiveindicatorthan age in many home. They also show an interestingdifferencebetween
kinds of consumer analysis, but proof requiresdirect marriedand single households.When the head is over
comparison.The one directcomparisonthat has so far 45, in the labor force and married,home ownershipis
been publishedis reviewedbelow and supplementedby very high even after the childrenhave left home. When
datafromtwo othersources. the head is over 45, in the labor force but single, home
In "FamilyLife Cycle as an IndependentVariable"
ownershipis low even thoughincome is still fairlyhigh.
Lansingand Kish [8] made a directcomparisonbetween In the later years, the presence of a partneris more
life cycle and age with respectto six importantaspects relevantto home ownershipthan either the absence of
of the family's consumptionpattern: family income, childrenor the loss of income that comes with retire-
indebtedness,whetherthe wife works,home ownership, ment.
purchaseof new cars and purchaseof televisionsets. In The datashowingmajorexpenditureon durablespro-
these comparisonsthey found that life cycle discrimi- vide anotheropportunityto comparelife cycle with age.
nated betterthan age in all six cases, and that life cycle The age datasuggestthatyoungerpeoplemakethe most
analysisprovidedsome useful informationthat analysis purchases,and olderpeople makethe largestpurchases.
by age grouptendedto conceal. For instance,life cycle However,the life cycle data identifythe young married
analysisshowed"a sharpdropin the proportionof home- childlesscouplesas the groupwith the highestpurchase
owners among older, single people as comparedwith rate and the highest averageexpenditure.These people
older units where both husband and wife are still are acquiringthe package,and they have the money to
present. The relevant fact is widowhood rather than spend.Whenthe childrenarrive,the purchaserate stays
age." In another comparison,proportionof spending high but the cost of the averagepurchasetakes a sharp
units with an income-earning wife, the smooth trend drop. Expensive purchaseswill not again be common
in the age data gave the impression that young women until after the householdfinanceshave recoveredfrom
tend to work indefinitely without interruption, while the child shock.
life cycle data accurately reflected the fact that "young Vacationtravelprovidesthe finalcomparisonin these
wives with no children are much more likely to work data betweenlife cycle and age. The age data show two
than those who have young children." peaks: between 25-34, and between 45-54. The life
A drop in family income produced by loss of the cycle data show that it is the young childlesscouples,
working wife's contribution showed up in the life cycle not the coupleswith youngchildren,who are takingex-
data but not in the age data; and the life cycle data, not pensive (over $100) vacations.They also show that it
the age data, showed that new car buying takes a dip is the older people still working,not the older, retired
LIFECYCLECONCEPTIN MARKETING
RESEARCH 359

Table 1
COMPARISON
OF AGE AND LIFECYCLEDATAFROMMICHIGAN
SURVEYOF CONSUMER
FINANCES
Percent Mean major Percent
making expenditure taking
Median income Housing status major vacation trips
(1962) early 1963 expenditures durables- costing
on durables- 1962 $100 or
own rent other 1962 more-1962

Age
Under 25 $3300 15% 60% 25% 58% $900 35%
25-34 6100 47 45 8 69 980 43
35-44 6820 71 26 3 64 980 41
45-54 7120 72 24 4 59 1070 46
55-64 4720 63 30 7 42 930 37
65 and over 2510 72 25 3 26 870 25

Life cycle (1963)


Under 45 years of age
single, no children 3850 17 38 45 44 880 24
married, no children 7070 39 55 6 77 1346 49
married, youngest child under 6 6720 57 39 4 76a 874a 30
married, youngest child 6 or over 7500 75 23 2 67b 946b 36
45 or more years of age
Married, children 7430 71 25 4 56 1042 31
Married, no children
Head in labor force 7300 77 20 3 968 41
Head retired 2710 75 24 1 21
Single, no children
Head in labor force 4410 46 38 16 26 930 28
Head retired 1850 61 32 7 15
aMarried less than 10 years.
bMarried 10 years or over.

people who spend at least $100 per trip each year. The category to get an index of sensitivity to life cycle. Again,
notion that great numbersof retiredpeople take trips if families in the various life cycle categories all spent
costingmore than $100 is a $100 misunderstanding! about the same amount, this index was low; if they
The other source of data for comparingage with life differed greatly, the index was high. The range was used
cycle is the "ExpenditurePatterns of the American as a measure of variability instead of the variance or the
Family"preparedby the NationalIndustrialConference average deviation because the latter two measures mini-
Board and sponsoredby Life [13]. This study provides mize differences created by the presence of one out-
useful additional information because it covers ex- standing group. Since the purpose of segmentation is
penditureson servicesand nondurablegoods as well as to identify outstanding household types, it is important
expenditureson durables,and because it covers many to preserve this feature of the data.
more product categories than either the Lansing and The next question was, for how many products or
Kish study or the Michigan Survey of Consumer services was life cycle more sensitive than age, and for
Finances.It thereforeserves to completethe picture. how many was age more sensitive than life cycle? For
The first step using the data from "The Expenditure about half the products and services it did not make
Patterns of the American Family" was to determine much difference. If expenditures varied by age, they
which products and services were most sensitive to varied by life cycle to about the same degree. But for
differencesin age and which were most sensitive to 231 products or services there were substantial (at least
differencesin life cycle. For each serviceor product,the 1.2 to 1) differences. Fifty-four of these differences
averageexpenditurein the lowest spendingage category favored age, and 177 favored life cycle.
was subtractedfrom the average expenditurein the It is interesting to look at the products and services
highest spendingage category to get an index of sen- for which age was a more discriminating variable than
sitivity to age. If families in the various age categories life cycle. Two of these are clearly a function of age-
all spent aboutthe same amount,this index was low; if related physical difficulties-expenditures for medical
they differedgreatly,the index was high. Similarly,for appliances and expenditures for "other medical care"
each service or productthe averageexpenditurein the which includes nursing home and outpatient hospital
lowest spendinglife cycle categorywas subtractedfrom services. Both these items showed a clear upward trend
the averageexpenditurein the highestspendinglife cycle with age. Perhaps also in this category belong prunes,
360 JOURNALOF MARKETING NOVEMBER
RESEARCH, 1966

for which expenditures quadruple from the youngest to preserves; candy, pancake and waffle mix; and potato
the oldest age group. chips. Also in this group of items are bleaches and dis-
A second group of products and services which age infectants, packaged detergents, soap, electric irons,
discriminated better than life cycle were mainly luxuries: dolls and accessories, toys and play equipment, wagons,
fur coats and stoles; men's jewelry and watches; blended sleds and skates. The underlying unity here is that all
whiskey; bourbon, scotch and rye; manicures, massages, these items get their highest average expenditure in the
and slenderizing treatments; gifts and contributions, "some children under six, some over six" category.
laundry and cleaning sent out, and repairs by con- A third group of items which life cycle discriminates
tractors. Expenditures on these items increased steadily better than age includes bicycles; games, puzzles and
with age through the next to the last age group, then mechanical toys; comic books, hardback books, pianos
dropped sharply at retirement. and organs, and music lessons. The pattern here be-
A third group of products and services for which age comes obvious when it is known that these items receive
discriminates better than life cycle is a group of items peak expenditure in the "all children six to eleven"
which reach peak expenditure in the second and third category. Not obviously part of the same pattern is the
age categories-between 25-34, or between 35-44. It fact that this life cycle stage also spends more than any
is an odd assortment including dehumidifiers, hi-fi com- other on air conditioners, electric floor waxers, hand
ponents, pocket editions, curtains, and homeowner in- power and garden tools, and insect sprays and powders.
surance. This group has no obvious psychological unity, With the essential appliances already bought and family
and is perhaps just a collection selected by chance varia- finances getting better, it is now possible to buy some
tions in the data. However, one item that shows this things that are not necessities.
"early peak" pattern does seem to have an underlying The final group of items for which life cycle discrimi-
physiological explanation. Expenditures on slacks, nates better than age includes auto operating expenses,
shorts and dungarees for women increase to their maxi- auto liability insurance, antifreeze, auto repairs and
mum in the 25-34 year age group, then decrease stead- parts, hand luggage, lodging out of the home city; boats,
ily. outboard motors and trailers; dental services, electric
Finally, age does better than life cycle on a small shavers and repairs, haircuts, home permanent kits,
group of products which get peak expenditure among school and technical books, and magazines. These
the under 25 group, and which get steadily less ex- products and services all get peak expenditure from the
penditure from then on. Two of these, drive-in movies life cycle stage in which the children at home are all 12
and portable TV sets, appear to be teenage carryovers. or over.
Two appear to be related to not yet owning a home- Thus the evidence from "Expenditure Patterns of the
rent, and money spent on coin-operated washing American Family" and from the other direct com-
machines. And four appear to be related to setting up parisons between life cycle and age weighs heavily in
housekeeping-sterling silver, bedroom suites, non- favor of life cycle. Whether the item in question is a
electric cooking utensils, and kitchen wares. Young product or a service, a durable or a nondurable, life
people first acquire the things on which they sleep and cycle is likely to be a more meaningful way of classifying
with which they eat. consumers. An overview of the life cycle, taken from all
It is also interesting to look at the products and serv- the research reviewed above, is shown in Appendix I.
ices for which life cycle discriminates better than age.
Here, the presence and activities of children are the RESEARCH PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH
major influence. USING LIFE CYCLE
One group of products for which life cycle discrimi-
nates better than age includes automatic washing The above has suggested that it would be profitable to
machines, clothes dryers, refrigerators,vacuum cleaners, use life cycle stage instead of age in studies of consumer
hospital services, vitamins, and babysitters. Viewed out behavior. Life cycle, however, has several drawbacks
of the life cycle context these items do not seem to as a research tool.
have much in common. However the underlying unity is First, no two investigators have yet agreed on just how
that all these items reach peak consumption among to categorize the life cycle (Table 2). Therefore verify-
families with children all under six. ing the results of one study by comparing it with an-
A second group of items for which life cycle dis- other is often difficult, and the growth of a detailed
criminates better than age includes home freezers and a picture of life cycle changes is often hindered.
long list of foods: lard, flour, cornflakes, sugar, dried Even when using a single study, the question of which
vegetables, evaporated and condensed milk, raisins, categories to use is not trivial. If a category is too
margarine, cold wheat cereals; macaroni, spaghetti and narrow, it will include such a small proportion of the
noodles; syrup, molasses and honey; eggs, canned sample that it will be all but unpopulated except in large
chicken soup, fresh whole milk, potatoes, peanut butter, surveys. If it is too broad, it will cover such a wide
white bread, frankfurters, ice cream; jellies, jams and variety of consumers that it will not identify anybody.
RESEARCH
LIFECYCLECONCEPTIN MARKETING 361

Table 2
LIFECYCLE
STAGESUSEDIN REPRESENTATIVE
STUDIES

Percent Percent Percent Life Study: Percent


Lansing and rPercent Life Study
distribu Michigan Survey
Michigan Survey distribu-
distribu-
Expenditure distribu-
distribu-
"Consumer of Consumer distribu- Research Center, Expenditure
Morgan,
Finances over the tion of Expenditures tion of 1964 Survey of tion of Patterns of the tion of
Life Cycle" 1954 family 1957 family Consumer Finances family American Family family
unitsa units unitsi 1965 units'

Young, singleb 10.8 No children and 8.0 Under 45 years of age Families with child
Young married, no 7.4 head under 40e Single, no children 5.0 under 6 years
children Younger childrenf 40.0 Married, no chil- 5.0 Some under 6 yearsm 14.5
Young married, Older children 16.0 drent All under 6 years 12.7
with childrenc onlyg Married, youngest 22.0 Families with child 6
Youngest child 21.7 No children and child under 6 years or over only
under 6 head over 40h Married, youngest 10.0 All 6-11 years 4.6
Youngest child 6 10.1 Married head 23.0 child 6 or over Any 12 years or over 25.7
or over Single head 13.0 45 or more years of age Families with no chil-
Older married, with 10.1 Married, children 14.0 dren
children Married, no childrenk Husband-wife 24.1
Older married, no 20.6 Head in labor force 15.0 18.4
children under Head retired 8.0 Other"
18 Single, no children
Older, single 14.2 Head in labor force 7.0
Otherd 4.4 Head retired 9.0
Not ascertained 0.7 Any age
Single, children 5.0
a A
family contains more than one spending unit only if someone in the family other than the head or the head's wife has an in-
come of his own of over $15.00 per week and keeps more than half of that income for his own use.
b By "young" is meant head of spending unit under 45 years; by "older," head 45 or over.
By "children" is meant children under 18 years.
d Includes spending units where there is only one adult in the unit, but that adult is married (for example, the husband may be
absent in the armed forces). Includes also spending units that contain children but the head is not married (for example, a widow
may have children under 18).
e Household head is married or unmarried.
f Young children under 10 years; these households may have older children between 10 and 19.
g Between ages of 10 and 19 years.
h No children under 20 at home.
i A family unit is defined as all persons living in the same dwelling who are related to each other by blood, marriage, or adoption.
A single person who is unrelated to the other occupants of the dwelling or who lives alone is a family unit by himself.
i No children under 18 at home.
k No children under 18 at home.
' Family refers to: (a) a group of people, usually living together, who pool their income and draw from a common fund for major
items of expense or (b) a financially independent person living alone or in a household with others (income and expenditures are
not pooled). Never married offspring living with parents were considered members of the family.
? Includes families with children under six as well as children six or older.
n Mainly single people, unmarried and widows or widowers.

And, if it is inappropriatelyselected, so that it merges parents at home, and older single people. Household
groupswith very differentconsumptionpatterns,it will types like these must either be forced into categories
not discriminateno matterhow broador narrowit is. wherethey do not reallybelong, and wherethey tend to
Inappropriateselectionappearsto have been fatal to the obscurethe spendingpattern,or they mustbe forgotten.
"other,no children"categoryin "TheExpenditurePat- They usuallyaccountfor five to ten percentof the data.
ternsof the AmericanFamily."In that studythe "other, Finally, comparedwith age, life cycle has the handi-
no children"categorycontains6.9 percentof the people cap of being a relativelyunfamiliarconcept.Analysisby
and accountsfor 9.5 percentof the expenditures.How- age is standardand accepted,but analysisby life cycle
ever, it contains so many differentkinds of consumers is liable to be received with the coolness that greets
that it does not producea peak averageexpenditurein
anythingnew.
any of the productsand servicesfor which age and life From the materialpresentedhere, it would seem that
cycle differed. life cycle analysis deserves a change in status. Even
Anotherproblemis that some householdsdo not fit
neatly into any of the usual life cycle stages. Examples though it is still relativelyuncommon,it is so useful
are households headed by widows or widowers with that it deservesa place among standardresearchprac-
young children,young marriedcouples with dependent tices.
Appendix I
AN OVERVIEW
OF THELIFECYCLE

Bachelor stage; Full nest III; older Empty nest I; older Empty nest II; older
Newly married Full nest II; young- married coules married couples, married couples, Solita
gingln couples; young, d six est child six or no lita
people not living est child under with dependent t children
withmeadv living no children living
ohome, d in l
eFullcusd
no children over six reopnetsd with them, head at home, head
people yoouF, warrih
children in labor force retired

Few financial Better off finan- Home purchas- Financial posi- Financial posi- Home ownership Drastic cut in in- Inco
burdens. cially than ing at peak. tion better. tion still bet- at peak. come. go
Fashion opinion they will be in Liquid assets Some wives ter. Most satisfied Keep home. lik
leaders. near future. low. work. More wives work. with financial Buy: Medical ho
Recreation ori- Highest purchase Dissatisfied with Less influenced Some children position and appliances,
(,J
ented. rate and high- financial posi- by advertising. get jobs. money saved. medical care,
Buy: Basic kit- est average pur- tion and Buy larger sized Hard to influence Interested in products which
chen equipment, chase of dura- amount of packages, mul- with advertis- travel, recrea- aid health,
basic furniture, bles. money saved. tiple-unit deals ing. tion, self-edu- sleep, and di-
cars, equipment Buy: Cars, re- Interested in new Buy: Many foods, High average cation. gestion.
for the mating frigerators, products. cleaning mate- purchase of Make gifts and
game, vacations. stoves, sensi- Like advertised rials, bicycles, durables. contributions.
ble and dura- products. music lessons, Buy: New, more Not interested in
ble furniture, Buy: Washers, pianos. tasteful furni- new products.
vacations. dryers, TV, ture, auto Buy: Vacations,
baby food, travel, non- luxuries, home
chest rubs and necessary ap- improvements.
cough medi- pliances, boats,
cine, vitamins, dental services,
dolls, wagons, magazines.
sleds, skates.
CONCEPTIN MARKETING
LIFECYCLE RESEARCH 363

REFERENCES havior, Volume II, New York: New York University Press,
1955.
1. S. G. Barton, "The Life Cycle and Buying Patterns," in 10. Charles P. Loomis, "Study of the Life Cycle of Families,"
Lincoln H. Clark, ed., Consumer Behavior, Volume II, Rural Sociology, 1 (June 1936), 180-99.
New York: New York University Press, 1955. 11. Donald L. Miller, "The Life Cycle and the Impact of
2. Evelyn M. Duvall, Family Development, New York: J. B. Advertising,"in Lincoln H. Clark, ed., Consumer Behavior,
LippincottCo., 1957. Volume II, New York: New York University Press, 1955.
3. Norton Garfinkle, "A MarketingApproach to Media Selec- 12. Eva Mueller, "The Desire for Innovation in Household
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7-15. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1958.
4. Paul C. Glick, American Families, New York: John Wiley 13. National Industrial Conference Board, Expenditure Pat-
& Sons, Inc., 1957. terns of the American Family, New York: Life, 1965.
5. George Katona, The Powerful Consumer, New York: Mc- 14. David Riesman and Howard Roseborough, "Careers and
Graw-Hill Book Co., 1960. Consumer Behavior," in Lincoln H. Clark, ed., Consumer
6. ---, Charles A. Lininger and Eva Mueller, 1963 Survey Behavior, Volume II, New York: New York University
of Consumer Finances, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Press, 1955.
Michigan, Survey Research Center, Monograph No. 34, 15. Social Research Inc., "Furniture Buying and Life Stages,"
1964. in Martin M. Grossack, ed., Understanding Consumer Be-
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Glencoe, Ill.: The Free Press, 1955. 1964.
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Independent Variable," American Sociological Review, Systematic Source Book in Rural Sociology, Minneapolis:
(October 1957), 512-9. University of Minnesota Press, 1931.
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