Social Factors

Question 1

What are Demographic change social factors?

Answer 1

The make-up of population: age, gender, ethnicity.

Question 2

What is the grey pound?

Answer 2

The spending power of older people as they are now a highly profitable clientele.

Question 3

What are pressure groups social factors?

Answer 3

Certain industries may be affected by actions of pressure groups. For instance, supermarkets have been blocked from turning community pubs into smaller supermarkets by the work of CAMRA.

Question 4

What are demographics and labour supply social factors

Answer 4

• changes in population impact on businesses’ hiring policies and the supply of labour.
• Firms may look to recruit older staff as they are regarded to be more reliable than Teenagers.
• Employees may need different training based on language and culture

Question 5

What are consumer taste and fashion social factors

Answer 5

• Fashion is more disposable, tastes are more cosmopolitan and we eat out in restaurants more than in previous generations. These impact on consumer demand, therefore are important to businesses looking for customers.

Question 6

What are changing lifestyle social factors?

Answer 6

Expectations within society change continually. Consider:
the rise of gym membership
increasing expectations of holiday entitlement
paternity leave
gender equality at work
on-demand TV services
internet shopping

All of the above create opportunities and challenges for business.