Pyschographic Data for 2008 and 1996

Psychographic data are particularly useful when it’s important to understand not just who buys, but why they buy and how the product or service fits into a customer’s overall lifestyle or consumption habits. For this reason, psychographics are often an important consideration in market segmentation. Psychographics are also useful for providing the insights necessary to craft advertising that focuses not on product attributes, but rather on the benefits that those attributes may provide to the buyer. For this reason, marketing, advertising, and psychographics are all inter-connected.

Psychographics alone, though, are usually not sufficient: many marketing issues, such as determining what market to target or planning a media mix, require demographic data. However, decisions about such issues tend to be more effective if the demographic data can be linked back to psychographic data. Therefore, it’s often useful to first identify the psychographic characteristics of the target market(s), and then to determine the relative prevalence of the characteristics among different demographic groups.
In relation to marketing, sales, and advertising in the 90’s and today, the industry can use past psychographic data to determine how the consumer will react to new trends, fashions, price points, etc. One new technology that consumers were new to was the advancement in the internet. Retailers could now access and observe consumers from the World Wide Web and keep consistent records of data to review and asses while making decisions on their next plan of business.

To truly get into the sub-conscious of the consumer, retailers and forecasters must think outside the box to get the answers they’re looking for. For example, in 2008 a poll recently released by the Consumer Reports National Research Center shows that 82% of consumers are concerned about their credit card numbers being stolen online, while 72% are concerned that their online behaviors were being tracked and profiled by companies. Also, according to Archstone Consulting, results of its 2008 Holiday Gift Card Survey predict that, in reaction to the faltering economy, consumers will spend less on gift cards in Holiday 2008 and will also shift their gift card spending towards household necessities such as groceries, and gas, or small indulgences such as dining at restaurants. These polls and surveys may be just predictions, but the forecast on for the fashion industry depends greatly on these findings. If these analyses are true, the U.S. will experience a huge slump in sales come the holiday season, forcing companies and designers alike to either push sales through marketing or cut back on inventory and markdown clothing line come Christmas.

http://www.scarborough.com/statshop/reports/Customer_Profiling.pdf

http://www.mediapost.com/blogs/research_brief/