During 2004 ages 35-44 were the average age for the head of the household. Most of the families had least one child and the average age of the children were ages 13-15. Households that had two parents and one income were ½ the amount of households that had two parents with two incomes. There were a total of 12,820,908 households in the United States that went shopped by catalog or by mail. Gambling and entering lottery or sweepstakes was on the rise, with almost 50% of households participating in one or both of these activities. The average person was interested in moneymaking ideas and gourmet food.2004 was a year of opportunity. Many families had a rather large discretionary income and we were willing to spend it.
Analysis of Data: With the number of most consumers owning a bank or credit card being nearly 7 times larger than not having one, it shows people were 'OK' with have some debt with confidence of being able to pay the amount off. It was a time when consumer confidence was up and sales in most areas showed. Companies could have clued in on this and may have focused on using “word of mouth” as a way of advertising.
Demographics
The United States is a large retail market, certain regions on the country being more prevalent than others. According to the United States demographics, Zip Edition, this is how the top 5 regions ranked by population and other factors that may influence the area.
South Atlantic
Largest region population which was 54,930,860
The South Atlantic states include: Delaware, Florida,Maryland,Virginia,and North and South Carolina,Georgia,Maryland and West Virginia.
Total retail sales:$616,196,591 with a projection of $691,088,791 in 2009.
The total dollar amount of apparel sold was $69732417
The population was split 48.5:51.5 male to female ratio
Pacific Region
The region included states California, Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii.
Regions population was 47,527,011, with expected growth to 804,804,431.
The dollar amount of apparel sold:$73239297.
The population was split with a 49.9:50.1 male to female ratio.
California has the largest person per square mile in this region at
East North Central
States included: Illinois, Indiana,Michigan,Ohio, and Wisconsi
Population: 45,988,620
Total Retail Sales: $612,119,591 with a projection of 691,088,792 in 2009
The dollar amount of apparel sold$69,732,417
The population had a 49:51 male to female ratio
Mid Atlantic
States in region: New Jersey,New York,Pennsylvania.
Population: 40,309,735
Total Retail Sales in 2004:$511,764,703 with a projection growth to 595,176,500 Dollars
Amount of apparel sold: $67073394
Thepopulation had a 48.4:51.6 male to female ratio
Largest person per square mile at 427 people. The next best is 275 in the New England Region
West South Central
States within region: Arkansas,Louisiana,Oklahoma,Texas
Population of region: 33,173,879
Total Retail Sales$ 209,563,224 with a projected growth to 543,953,497
Total Dollar amount of apparel sales:$44,838,651
The region has a 49.5 to 50.5 male to female ratio
Analysis of Data:
Not only do demographics effect where and what peoples needs are, it affects what they buy. It is very clear that in these five top regions based on population and retail sales, it would be a smart choice to invest money in advertisements and product placement. A company must be aware of what type of consumer they are targeting. The United States does have fashion capitals, New York being the most famous. Since New York has the highest person per square mile in the United States, it would be a good investment of a company to spend more money on an extravagant sign or ad since it will reach many people. In other areas of the country in which retail and apparel are not as important to the consumers, it would be also a smart choice to invest less on that market. The consumers are very different in each of the regions, they have different leisure activities, tastes, styles, and discretionary income. A company needs to keep a close eye on how many people can be reached, how much the consumer is willing to spend on items,are they male or female consumers,what type of household do they live in, and how easy it will be to reach them in order to have an idea on what regions to invest in.
Leisure Activities
The Average person in 2004 participated in a leisure activity for at least 1 hour a day. Some activities included watching TV, socializing, exercising, and sports.According to the US Department on Labor, 96% participated some sort of leisure activity. The largest group of people spent their time watching TV. The lowest amount of people spent their time exercising. Men have been shown to participate in sports and exercising more than women. This sprung a huge push in exercise programs and keeping children educated about obesity and the importance of exercising. NASA really picked up the pace on using their resources to reaching out to young children as well as adults.
This video is one of the programs that NASA has committed themselves to and it started in 2004. It educates on exercise, nutrition, and overall healthy living.
Analysis of Data:
Leisure activities effect what the consumers spend their money on. Discretionary income is spent on leisure activities and the equipment and dress that goes along with it. In 2004, health was not as big of an issue as is in 2008. With the new knowledge of health concerns and risks, leisure activities have drastically changed in 4 years. Not only have individuals picked up on the healthy living push so have communities. Some have gone as far as to link their professional teams with the youth of the community. This is a way to get consumers involved and adds them to the list of those who are going to buy the companies product. The fashion industry can take part on the sales of the professional teams products that are sold at the game, world wide, and in many stores around the states. Not only is the focus on certain products, it focuses on the lifestyle of that consumer. It will lead lead the consumer to purchase related products and become loyal to the brand.
Natural Disaster
The tsunami in South Asia and Indonesia occurred in 2004.It claimed over 290,000 lives. According to PBS, the debris that filled the streets contained wooden planks, cars, bicycles, dead animal bodies like snakes, rats, chickens,goats, even water buffalo, and human beings. When bodies were found, they used mattresses, and carpet to cover them. Relief from the red cross came with food, water, gas, and some clothing.The problem with the food was that not enough water was brought and there was no way to cook the noodles without clean water. Therefor, the people had to eat without cooking their food. It was such a disaster area that not enough relief could be found in the early days.This also is important in the fashion industry, if the area of natural disaster has certain materials relevent to the textiles that are popular at the time.
The video below show actual footage from the 2004 Tsunami.
sweepstakes was on the rise, with almost 50% of households participating in one or both of these activities. The average person was interested in moneymaking ideas and gourmet food.2004 was a year of opportunity. Many families had a rather large discretionary income and we were willing to spend it.
The tsunami in South Asia and Indonesia occurred in 2004.It claimed over 290,000 lives. According to PBS, the debris that filled the streets contained wooden planks, cars, bicycles, dead animal bodies like snakes, rats, chickens,goats, even water buffalo, and human beings. When bodies were found, they used mattresses, and carpet to cover them. Relief from the red cross came with food, water, gas, and some clothing.The problem with the food was that not enough water was brought and there was no way to cook the noodles without clean water. Therefor, the people had to eat without cooking their food. It was such a disaster area that not enough relief could be found in the early days.This also is important in the fashion industry, if the area of natural disaster has certain materials relevent to the textiles that are popular at the time. 
No comments:
Post a Comment