New Unity Marketing survey reveals where the wealthiest Americans shop...

Discount Department Stores like Target and Kohls Appeal to the Nation's Wealthiest Shoppers   

When Apple's retail innovator Ron Johnson joins JC Penney's later this year, he'll already find a critical mass of wealthy shoppers in his midst

Stevens, PA  June 2011 --  Think that the nation's wealthiest shoppers, those ultra-affluents at the top 2 percent of U.S. households with incomes of $250,000 and above, shop only at the toniest places?  Think again.  They are just as eager as shoppers with less disposable income to find good quality at reasonable prices.  That's why they shop at discounters like number one ranked Target, as well as at Kohls, Costco and Walmart just like everybody else, according to the latest survey of luxury consumers conducted by Unity Marketing.

"Trends in where luxury consumers shop reveals how a new values orientation has taken hold of the affluent shopper," explains Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and author of Putting the Luxe Back in Luxury:  How new consumer values are redefining the way we market luxury (Paramount Market Publishing, 2011). "The wealthiest shoppers look at their luxury spending as an investment, but not like an investment where they buy it today and put it up on eBay tomorrow and make a profit.  Rather they see their purchases as an investment in their lifestyle that must deliver a meaningful return as measured in greater pleasure, comfort, superior performance and longevity of wear and use."

Danziger continues, "When they look at a luxury brand and its high price tag, wealthy shoppers make a shrewd investment calculation, evaluating the money spent with the expected return to their lifestyle.  If the product doesn't measure up, they won't spend the money; rather they will trade down to a cheaper, yet acceptable alternative.  In today's retail landscape people can find good substitutes for almost any product out there at all different price points.  The shopper can be choosy and the wealthiest shoppers can afford to be the choosiest."

That is why it should come as no surprise that more ultra-affluents shopped at Target (39.5 percent) in the first three months of 2011 than shopped at Neiman Marcus (20.1 percent) or at Macy's (34 percent) than at Bloomingdales (19.4 percent).  

"Looking to the future, retailers at the top end, like Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales, have to recognize that their competitive set extends beyond those in their 'class,' but also to mass. With Apple's retail innovator Ron Johnson joining J.C. Penney as CEO later this year, I expect to see exciting changes emerging from Penney's particularly in the area of the customer's shopping experience.  Johnson already has a solid base of affluent Penney shoppers.  The fact is a larger share of ultra-affluent consumers (22.4 percent) shopped at J.C. Penney's in the first three months of 2011 than shopped at any one of the seven luxury department stores included in Unity Marketing's survey."

[Note:  The full list of discount and mass department stores and ultra-affluent shopping behavior is available on request by calling 717.336.1600.]

>>More information on the shopping habits of the affluent available in Unity Marketing's Luxury Report 2011

The Luxury Report 2011: Ultimate Guide to the Luxury Consumer Market is a comprehensive guide to the shopping and spending habits of the affluent, including the  lower-income HENRYs (High Earners Not Rich Yet with incomes $100,000-$249,999) and the ultra-affluents from 2008 to 2010. Danziger explains, "So far the ultra-affluents are contributing more than their fair share to luxury businesses, but signs are that even the ultra-affluents are starting to pull back now that their pent up demand for luxury built up through the recession is starting to be satisfied." 

The Luxury Report 2011 gives marketers data about trends in what luxury consumers are buying, where they are shopping, how much they are spending and what brands they favor in key categories of luxury.  In total the report shares findings of 5,195 luxury consumers surveyed in 2010 (average income $311,400). 

"We designed the Luxury Report 2011 as both a powerful desk reference and a source for insight into the future trends in the luxury market.  The new report provides the kind of detailed facts and figures about the luxury consumer market that will delight data-driven executives.  But it also focuses on the mindset and attitudes of the luxury consumer, making it an invaluable tool for luxury brand executives to plan for the future of their changing marketplace," Danziger concludes.   

>> Luxury Marketers:  This is a report about your customers & your target customers

The Luxury Report 2011 is a compilation of the quarterly luxury tracking surveys that Unity Marketing conducts every three months with 1,000-1,250 affluent consumers who purchased one or more luxuries in the study period.  Unity's luxury tracking study is the only longitudinal study of its kind that tracks the luxury consumer market, what they buy, how much they spend. 

In addition to providing detail data about affluent consumers' purchases and spending in 22 categories of luxury goods and services, this year's report includes metrics that measure spending by specific product and share of product category spending by retail distribution channel in these key product areas:

Home Luxuries

• Art and Antiques

• Home Electronics

• Furniture, Lamps and Floor Coverings 

• Garden and Outdoor 

• Home Decorating Fabrics, Wall and Window Coverings

• Kitchen Appliances, Bathroom Equipment and Building Products

• Kitchenware, Cookware, Housewares 

• Linens and Beddings 

• Tabletop, Dinnerware, Stemware, Flatware

Personal Luxuries

• Clothing and Apparel 

• Cosmetics, Fragrance and Beauty Products 

• Fashion Accessories 

• Jewelry 

• Watches 

• Wine, Liquor and Spirits 

• Personal Electronics

• Automobiles 

Experiential Luxuries

• Dining 

• Entertainment 

• Home Services 

• Spa, Massage, Beauty and Cosmetic Services 

• Travel   

The report shows which of the product categories are growing the fastest year-over-year based upon increase in sales and which product categories are dropping at the fastest rates.

>> This report doesn't stop with the data -- It pushes further to help marketers and retailers put the information to use

Unity Marketing's aim in publishing The Luxury Report 2011 is to translate the data into information that marketing executives can use to make critical strategic decisions.  This market research report helps make the research data and findings accessible and useable.  It provides marketers with three powerful perspectives:  "What," "So What," and "Now What."  The report is written to reveal the key research findings, explain why they are important to luxury marketers, and then help marketers find ways to put the research to use in developing new concepts, new strategies, new tactics for success.

Call Pam Danziger at 717.336.1600 to discuss your specific research needs.

For media:  Danziger available for interviews.  Charts, tables and graphs detailing major findings in the report also are available. 

About  Pam Danziger and Unity Marketing