Recession? What recession?
Not everyone has bought into the notion of doom and gloom and economic downturn that’s been afflicting the chattering classes around here.
An Experian Hitwise study (the New Zealand Lifestyle Mosaic Report) compiled by Senior Analyst Sandra Hanchard explores the online behaviour of this lucrative segment, which it dubs “Urban Intelligence”:
- Urban Intelligence consumers are stylish young professionals, aged 25-34 years. They are very ambitious, driven by success and well-educated. Most work in professional and technical occupations where they earn well above average household incomes, of over $56,000 per annum. Cars, clothes and accessories are seen as an extension of themselves. They wear stylish clothing with the right labels to get them noticed, and express themselves through conspicuous purchases.
- These people are technologically savvy early adopters and are into computers and associated technical gadgets. They are heavy Internet users, using it for music downloads, online shopping and entertainment, and would prefer to do all their banking without having to visit a branch. They consider themselves intellectuals and enjoy cultural pursuits, appreciating art and fine food, but are just as comfortable with takeaways and a movie.
What does Experian Hitwise know about this Urban Intelligence segment (accounting for 4.8% of New Zealand households)?
Quite a bit, much of it detailed in the free report.
What caught our eye in particular?
- This group includes a higher proportion of those of Asian descent than the population at large, and as a result they can be found participating in disproportionate numbers on Asian language networks, including SkyKiwi (9.54%), 6park.com (10.09%), Yeeyi (10.4%) and Cyworld (11.94%). In comparison, Facebook attracts 7.42% of the Urban Intelligence Group.
- The Urban Intelligence set are significantly lower users of Trade Me (indexed at 69 versus the general population) — presumably their obsession with brands and with the finer things of life means they’re not afraid to pay retail.
- Retail verticals that did perform strongly in attracting visits from Urban Intelligence included Apparel and Accessories (indexed at 125), Grocery and Alcohol (125), Department Stores (111), Flowers and Gifts (111), and Health and Beauty (109).
- Retail verticals under-represented by Urban Intelligence included Toys and Hobbies (69), Sports and Fitness (80), Music – Shopping (89), and House and Garden (92).
- In that top retail vertical, Apparel and Accessories, T-Shirts were the most popular offering. Designer t-shirt online shop, 1-Daytee was the leading Apparel and Accessories website visited by Urban Intelligence. US t-shirt company, Threadless.com also ranked in the top 10, and attracted a significant percentage of visits from Urban Intelligence (14.36%).
- There was a mixture of overseas luxury brands (e.g. Net-a-porter.com and Louis Vuitton) and domestic retailers (e.g. Ezibuy, MaxShop.com, Pumpkin Patch New Zealand) visited by Urban Intelligence.
The Top Ten Apparel and Accessories Destinations (ranked by volume of traffic):
1 1-Daytee 5.94%
2 Ezibuy New Zealand 3.52%
3 UDN Shopping 12.44%
4 MaxShop.com 7.97%
5 ASOS 17.38%
6 Louis Vuitton 19.30%
7 Kathmandu New Zealand 5.66%
8 Net-a-porter.com 18.46%
9 Threadless.com 14.36%
10 Pumpkin Patch New Zealand 3.16%
- 1-Daytee 5.94% of Urban Intelligence segment
- Ezibuy New Zealand 3.52%
- UDN Shopping 12.44%
- MaxShop.com 7.97%
- ASOS 17.38%
- Louis Vuitton 19.30%
- Kathmandu New Zealand 5.66%
- Net-a-porter.com 18.46%
- Threadless.com 14.36%
- Pumpkin Patch New Zealand 3.16%
The Urban Intelligence segment of the New Zealand Lifestyle Mosaic Report is available free to registered downloaders here.