Many U.S. households are shopping regularly online, and they include a wide variety of consumers, according to a new study by database marketing firm Acxiom Corp.
A new Personicx Consumer Dynamics study concludes that 23 of the 70 demographic clusters that Acxiom divides the U.S. population into have a propensity to spend at least $1,000 annually online. The households in those 23 clusters represent about 36% of U.S. households.
Committed online shoppers are not necessarily young, the study suggests. Two-thirds of heads of households in these clusters are at least 40 years old, and about a quarter are at least 50.
Among the top eight clusters in terms of propensity to shop on the web, six of them have no children. And of the 23 clusters likely to shop online, only one group—so-called “country singles” with no children, unmarried and aged 36-65—live in rural areas.
While there is a strong correlation between higher income and likelihood of shopping online, income is not a definitive predictor of shopping behavior. For instance, a group called “hard chargers,” defined as single, 30-45, living in suburbs or towns, are more likely to shop online than the “established elite” group that has 42% more income on average. That latter group includes consumers 46-65 who may be married or single and living in cities and surrounding areas.
The report, entitled “The Committed Online Consumer,” was based on Acxiom’s Personicx household segmentation system combined with survey data provided by Scarborough Research and Mediamark Research & Intelligence.
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