The rich are like other consumers in at least this respect: they’re shopping online. And some of them are not above selling stuff via the web.
69% of consumers with household incomes of at least $85,000 a year buy online and 70% of those making $250,000 annually, according to the 2007 Mendelsohn Affluent Survey by research firm Mendelsohn for the American Association of Advertising Agencies. Among a third group highlighted in the study—households with investable assets of at least $1 million—63% purchase online.
Among the total affluent group, 50% bought clothing or footwear online in the past 12 months, compared with 57% in the $250,000+ group and 45% for those with at least $1 million in liquid assets. The comparable figures for buying home furnishings online were 17%, 23% and 18%. 15% in both the total affluent and higher-income categories sell online, versus 11% for those with at least $1 million in investable assets.
Among all the affluent, 97% use the Internet and 88% use e-mail. The figures are higher for the $250,000+ group, of whom 98% use the Internet and 92% e-mail. Among the high net worth individuals, 98% go online and 89% use e-mail.
The 29 million households with annual income of at least $85,000 in 2006 represented the top quarter of U.S. households, and the average income within that category was $157,700. There were 2,245,000 households with income of at least $250,000, with an average income of $483,300, and 2.6 million with at least $1 million in such liquid assets as certificates of deposits, stocks, bonds and mutual funds. The average income in that group was $300,400. There are 867,000 households with both annual incomes of at least $250,000 and $1 million in investable assets.
Most affluent consumers are well educated, married or partnered and own their own home. The average age of a head of households was 47.8 for the affluent as a whole, 50.3 for the higher-income group and 57.4 for the high net worth category. 32% of the heads of households in the last group are retired.
The survey results are based on responses from nearly 13,500 affluent heads of households.
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