MediaBuyerPlanner: The aggregate income of nearly 21 million U.S. households now considered affluent was $3.6 trillion in 2006, and it’s expected to grow more than 27% over the next four years, reaching $4.6 trillion in 2011, according to The Affluent Market in the U.S., a new report from Packaged Facts.
Affluent households account for only 18% of all households but they now control nearly half of aggregate U.S. household income, according to the study (via MarketingCharts).
The super-affluent segment of the market – 2 million households with an income of $250,000 or more – wields even more leverage.
Super-affluent Americans account for only 1.2% of households but generate 12% of household income. Their average annual household income is $435,000.
The report finds that affluent Americans tend to be highly educated and work-driven; they spend big, invest well and pamper themselves. Yet they are also more apt to exercise regularly, eat well – and with the family, at home, rather than eating out.
“Affluents spend nearly one out of every three dollars in the US, which shows you the enormous buying power of this demographic,” notes Tatjana Meerman, the managing editor of Packaged Facts.
“On a long-term basis, the distribution of income in the US has increasingly tilted in favor of the highest strata and we see no signs of a slowdown any time soon, which is excellent news for marketers of everything from homes and home furnishings to fashion and leisure.”
Related stories:
- Nielsen: Affluent Consumers Shop Warehouse Clubs
- ‘Luxury Spafinder’ List Contains Affluent Consumers
Makes for very interesting opportunities for the upper upscale and luxury market. However, with so many US companies outsourcing their services and manufacturing it’s no wonder the middle class is being displaced. You certainly need to be an affluent consumer just to get through each day with the cost of living for basics rising–gasoline over $3 gallon, gallon of milk over $3, box of dry cereal almost $4, gallon of water $1.25, movie tickets almost $9, box of popcorn $3.
There’s no doubt the luxury market continues to thrive and grow.