Marketing Chart: The most affluent consumers also the most likely to engage with marketing

In October 2016, we asked 2,400 consumers: Thinking about companies that you are generally [satisfied or unsatisfied] with their products/services, how often do you do the following? 

This question was followed by a list of 11 options ranging from “read print advertising in a newspaper or magazine” to “download mobile apps of these companies.”

In this article, we are not going to share the aggregate data. You can see all 11 options, along with the aggregate data, in the article “Marketing Charts: Why the value chain matters to the marketer.”

Rather, let’s explore how different demographics responded to this question — specifically by income level.

You might assume that the most affluent customers are harder to reach and the least likely to engage with marketing. After all, the time they spend engaging with marketing is more valuable based on their income level. And, as the saying goes — time is money.

However, when we broke down the data based on income level, we made a surprising discovery — the most affluent customers were the most likely to engage. Here is an example in the chart below, which shows how likely consumers are to watch online videos ads.

To see 35 charts from the study, download the free report.

Affluent consumers more likely to watch online video ads

The upper class and the upper middle class were more likely to always watch online video ads than the middle class, lower middle class, and those living below poverty level.

More than a quarter (26%) of American consumers making $100,000 per year or more always watch online video ads, while just 15% of consumers making less than $25,000 and just 12% of consumers making $25,000 to $50,000 always watch online video ads.

Also, just 21% of Americans making more than $75,000 said they never watch online video ads, while 27% of consumers making less than $25,000, 28% of consumers making $25,000 to $50,000, and 29% of consumers making $50,000 to $75,000 never watch online video ads.

Affluent consumers more likely to engage with marketing in general

This same pattern held true for 10 of the 11 channels we surveyed consumers about — Americans making $100,000 or more were more likely to read print advertising in a newspaper or magazine, sign up to get email promotions for a company’s products or services, click on online ads when they see them, and so on.

The closest thing we could find to an exception to this discovery was how often consumers listen to ads in podcasts. You can see this data in the chart below.

To see 35 charts from the study, download the free report.

In this case, more affluent customers were still more likely to engage than less affluent customers. However, consumers making more than $100,000 were just barely the second most likely to always engage with this channel — 20% of consumers making $75,000 to $100,000 always listen to ads in podcasts while 19% of consumers making more than $100,000 always listen to ads in podcasts.

This was still significantly more often than less affluent customers. Only 13% of American consumers making less than $25,000 always listen to ads in podcasts, and just 9% of consumers making $25,000 to $50,000 do the same.

Related resources

Email Automation: How an online retailer increased revenue 20%

Email Research Chart: How often customers want to receive promotional emails

Special Report: How to Market to the Super Rich — 4 Challenges and 8 Must-Know Strategies (from the MarketingSherpa Library)