eMarketer released an interesting study today: Apparently, the number of households in the United States with $500,000 in net worth, not including primary residences, decreased by 5% to an estimated 15.6 million in 2008.
It’s the first time in six years that the number of affluent households has fallen.
Why is this news to online marketers? For starters, the wealthy are generally ahead of the curve when it comes to trends in technology and were among the first demographic to embrace the Internet. In addition, they’ve historically spent more time online than those with lower net worths. Which is perplexing, isn’t it? You’d think that those with higher net worths would spend their time more productively – like making more money. And perhaps they are, but we doubted it. That’s why we decided to dig a little deeper. What did we discover about how the affluent are using the Internet? They use it the way we all do: to buy more stuff.
According to the 2008 Mendelsohn Affluent Survey, which measures the online behaviors of the wealthy, the majority of spending (54%) is in the area of home, apparel and travel. Conversely, the lower affluent segments – those with annual incomes less than $250K – are more likely to spend time with online or console gaming and home repairs.
In the same study, conducted from March through July 2008, researcher Ipsos Mendelsohn found that among the affluent, households with annual incomes of a quarter-million dollars or more spent the most time online. In fact, the average number of hours logged increased with income, and users in the top tier spent nearly 6 hours more online per week than those whose income ranged from $100,000 to $150,000.
So how will this decline in affluent households affect the online marketing landscape?
Not at all.
eMarketer says that “even with the dip in the number of wealthy households, it is unlikely that the formerly affluent will decrease their time online.”
Because, let’s face it, when you’re broke, there’s no better time to jet away to Barbados. (Or at least read about it online!)
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