Why Do Certain Brands Make Consumers Tick, While Others Fail?
What Do Mass Market Consumers Care About? Here’s how your target markets social concerns rank.
It’s easy to assume that Millennials and Gen Z care about the same things, and that’s not necessarily true. For any new entrepreneurs out there it will be extremely helpful to know the nuanced details surrounding market positioning. So, I thought I’d share some helpful information entrepreneurs or content creators can use to dig deep while creating the profile of their ideal customer.
When creating a customer profile (i.e. identifying whose your person) you’ll have to know what markets they’re shopping in and the social issues they care about. Luckily market research has evolved, making actionable data more accessible. With new approaches to data collection entrepreneurs can use socially gathered A.I. research to help them position their brands and services.
The 7 Values Millennials And Gen Z Care About
Based on convincing A.I. fueled social research, Anna Dorywalska, COO of Linkfluence, pointed out 7 trending social issues within the Millennial and Gen Z market-space:
- Animal rights
- Inclusiveness
- LGBT Rights
- Feminism
- Environmental Protection
- Anti-racism
- Sustainability
The research company found that based on age range and shopping demographics the list hierarchy fluctuates. They divided their research into three categories: the mass-market consumer, the sportswear consumer, and the luxury consumer. Within each category, the ranking for each social concern moved. The instability of rank revels that not all Millennials and Gen Z consumers would be affected in the same way by a socially-motivated campaign or collaboration.
Looking Closely At The Mass Market Consumer
To identity the mass market consumer you’ll look at customers who primarily shop at big-box stores like Target and big e-retailers like Amazon. Fashion companies like Levi Strauss, Forever 21, and Gap are also included. These retailers target a wide variety of shoppers. It’s important to note a person who typically shops at mass-market retailers may also qualify as an aspirational shopper and will occasionally indulge in the sports or luxury market.
I can use myself as an example. I work an entry-level job and do most of my basic shopping at big box stores like Target and Trader Joes. However, I buy my footwear from brands like Everlane or Adidas by Stella McCartney, both with sustainable supply-chains. Occasionally, I’ll shop at the farmers market across the street. And when I need to make a quick run to the store I might favor my local specialty grocer over a Target run. However — my available disposable income means It’s not within my means to do all of my shopping at specialty grocers or buy all of my clothing from sports brands or luxury retailers.
The Social Concerns The Mass Market Consumer Cared About The Most
The social concerns that made the top of Linkfluence’s’ list were №1 animal rights and №2 inclusiveness, for the mass-market consumer. №3 LGBT rights stood in the middle of the chart. From there the data saw a significant decrease in importance.
Massachusetts voters just passed a law banning the sale of products from farms where the livestock isn’t, “provided with enough room to move around, as well as the use of such confinement practices in the state.”
Wbur.org reports, any violations of the new law, that will take affect in 2022, will result in a $1,000 fine for each accrued violation.
This new law will affect big-box grocery stores. And it was likely voted into place by the mass-market consumers of Massachusetts, who according to this data care about animal welfare.
Mass Market Consumers Don’t Care So Much About These Values
After a noticeable dip in the graph comes social concern №4 Feminism and №5 Environmental Protection, followed by №6 Anti-racism, and finally, last to rank in importance, №7 Sustainability.
However, Linkfluence’s data was presented last year in the Spring of 2019. It will be interesting to see how the global pandemic and race-fueled protests will affect shopping habits in the imminent future.
Using myself as a sort of case study, I want to point out I was really conflicted by Linkfluence’s findings. Within my own personal value system Feminism, Sustainability, and Anti-Racism rank very highly for me. But it’s important to note this data shows how I shop in the world, which is not necessarily the same as how I view the world.
This misalignment highlights that economic positioning might vastly skewer the shopping choices we would’ve made based on our social values.
Mass market consumers could be considered as more rational shoppers. In contrast, luxury brand shoppers may be making their decisions based more on emotional reasoning.
Based on my actual shopping habits I’m an aspirational, mass-market consumer; even though my value rankings align more with that of luxury brands. Which basically means I cannot be entirely classified as a rational shopper.
How to Use This Market Data To Your Advantage
I’m always overjoyed when I stumble upon actionable data and research. As a writer knowing who you’re creating content for is a top priority. Of course from a content creation perspective, the take-aways from this article could be obvious.
If you’re writing an affiliate article geared toward Amazon shoppers you might highlight whether or not the brand tests on animals or include inclusive language and images.
If your dream is to one day sell your brand in a big retailer like Target you might want to include inclusivity, animal welfare, or LGBT rights within your brand DNA to appeal to Millennial and Gen Z mass-market consumers.
If your target market is the mass market consumer, you can use Linkfluence’s data to help isolate important shopping behaviors unique to your ideal customer.
