Reaching the affluent male online has perhaps never been as important as it is in 2012. Menswear now accounts for 40% of global sales and grew almost twice as fast as women’s in 2011. In China, men account for over two-thirds (70%) of all luxury sales, in part due to the popular gift-giving culture amongst businessmen and government officials, in a market that is upwardly mobile and digitally driven.
iProspect, in partnership with comScore, are set to release “The Affluent Male: What His Online Behavior Can Teach Luxury Brand Marketers,” in a bid to define the affluent male, his behaviors and preferences towards devices, research and shopping. The study has so far identified 19 million affluent males on the Internet with a household income higher than $100,000, whom are connected through multiple devices and using them for both research and purchasing.
40% of respondents in the survey shop online at least twice a week and those who are shopping multiple times are spending in excess of $30,000 annually. Luxury menswear is on the leading edge of this growth trend, growing at a rate of about 14% per year.
Contrary to popular marketer assumptions, the affluent male is shopping for himself and the most searched items include travel, apparel, accessories and automobiles. 70% of the sample prefer to research and buy online, as opposed to researching online and purchasing in store.
- 91% of respondents access a PC at least once daily, 77% have a mobile smartphone and 50% own a tablet.
- Engagement with these devices is high across the board – almost 100% of survey respondents report using their PCs and mobile smartphones at least daily and 85% reporting daily use of tablets.
- When an affluent male has daily access to tablet, he is 32% more likely to have made a purchase via the device.
- In terms of visibility, 71% have seen ads on a PC while one in three have seen ads on a mobile phone or tablet.
“ 91% access a PC at least once daily, 77% have a smartphone, 50% own a tablet ”
- Affluent males are more engaged with search than the general public, 96% use search to learn more about products. Search ads, especially for mobile devices, remain both relevant and effective.
- 71% report clicking on sponsored search links “sometimes,” “usually,” or “always”
- 55% use Facebook at least daily, 39% use Google+ at least daily
- Top websites visited: Amazon (41%), Yahoo (37%), Google (29%), eBay (20%)
- Most searched topics include for travel, automobile, apparel and accessories
The official whitepaper “Luxury Marketing: The Digital Anatomy of the Affluent Male” will be released May 14, Luxury Society readers can register here to receive the paper via email.