Income Inequality & Marketing Implications Flashcards
Income Inequality
The extent to which resources are distributed unevenly within a population.
Household Living Arragements
Whether or not the person lives with another person or persons and, if so, whether or not they are related to that person or persons
Census Family
A housing unit containing at least one family
Discretionary Income
Money left after essentials
Attitudes Toward Money
- Tightwads
- Spendthrifts
- Frugality
Tightwards
Feel pain when spending
Spendthrifts
Enjoy Spending
Frugality
Driven by joy in saving, not pain in spending
Psychological ownership
Affects how people treat borrowed money as their own.
Consumer Confidence
Extent to which people are optimistic or pessimistic about the future health of the economy and how they predict they’ll fare down the road.
Social Stratification
Social stratification is the process by which societies create layers or “strata” of people based on things like income, occupation, education, or prestige.
Ascribed Status
Inherited (e.g., family name, wealth).
Social Mobility
Movement of individuals from one social class to another
Mass Class
Consumers with moderate income but access to high-quality goods (e.g., Zara, H&M, L’Oréal).
Components of Social Class
- Occupational Prestige
- Income
- Education
Occupational Prestige
Notion that some occupations are more respected than others
Income Power
Important for buying power but doesn’t fully define class.
how much disposable or discretionary income someone has to buy goods and services.
Educational Attainment
Strongly connected to both occupation and income.
Often used to predict future income and status.
Status Crystalization
When different parts of someone’s class identity don’t match (e.g., rich but low-prestige job). This can cause stress and openness to change.
Social Capital
Refers to access to exclusive networks and social influence.
More social capital = more power, access, and status.
The interpersonal relationships, institutions, and social assets that individuals or groups can leverage to gain advantages.
Status Symbols
Status symbols are objects or experiences that people display to signal their wealth, success, or social standing.
Conspicuous consumption
Refers to people’s desire to provide prominent, visible evidence of their ability to afford luxury goods.
Brand Prominence
Refers to the visibility and recognizability of a brand’s status markers, such as logos and design elements, which signal luxury and wealth.
