The folks at New Strategist Publications have been busy.
Since the beginning of summer it seems like a new book from the Ithaca, N.Y., firm has arrived at our offices every month. Here’s a quick rundown on the latest batch, a half-dozen more contributions to New Strategist’s already solid body of user-friendly compendiums of statistics. Each of the six books is a collection of demographic and economic data, largely from government sources, in a quick reference format, designed to give marketers of all stripes easy access to stats on a variety of consumer segments.
The information in Who’s Buying Food & Drink and Who’s Buying for the Home is based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Expenditure Survey. Both follow a similar approach, beginning with a spending overview (which is broken down by age and income, age and region, etc.) and devoting the next several chapters to spending by household type, region, education, age and so on. Each chapter contains a brief analysis and sections on average spending, indexed spending, average per capita spending, indexed per capita spending, total spending and market shares.
Food & Drink looks at expenditures for food and beverage purchases, broken down into basic categories (cereals, meats, dairy products, fruits and vegetables, alcoholic/non-alcoholic beverages, etc.) and subcategoties. Buying for the Home contains figures on expenditures on utilities and rent/mortgage payments in addition to a variety of housing products from flooring to gutters.
The Official Guide to American Incomes uses data from the Census Bureau’s 1995 and earlier Current Population Surveys as well as figures from the 1994 Consumer Expenditure Survey and the Federal Reserve Board’s 1992 Survey of Consumer Finances. The book contains chapters on income trends, household income, personal income, discretionary income, household income projections, consumer spending, household wealth and net worth, poverty trends and geography of income and poverty. Many tables show data broken down by age, education, occupation, and race.
The Official Gaide to Racial and Ethnic Diversity, uses, primarily, data from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey and the 1990 census to give readers information on Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans and Whites. Each ethnic group has its own chapter, with sections on education, health, households and living arrangements, housing, income, labor force, population and wealth and spending. The final chapter draws on the National Opinion Research Center of the University of Chicago’s 1994 General Social Survey for answers to attitudinal questions like "If your party nominated a black for president, would you vote for him if he were qualified for the job?" and "What do you think will happen as a result of more immigrants coming to this country?"
The same survey is the basis for much of The Official Guide to American Attitudes, which is an entertaining
compilation of our opinions on everything from confidence in Congress to personal happiness. Since the GSS has been conducted nearly every year since 1972, many of the tables contain data on how the same question has been answered in each of the past three decades. The book includes chapters on the environment, work and money, sex and morality and marriage and family.
The Mid-Youth Market uses various government and other information sources to paint a picture of the income, spending habits, family make-up, health, attitudes and other facets of the lives of 35-to-54-year-old baby boomers.
Who’s Buying Food & Drink ($69.95, hardcover, 292 pages) by Marcia Mogelonsky, Who’s Buying for the
Home ($69.95, hardcover; 502 pages) by Alison Stein Wellner; The Official Guide to American Incomes ($89.95, hardcover, 364 pages) by Thomas G. Exter, The Official Guide to Racial and Ethnic Diversity ($89.95, hardcover, 633 pages) by Cheryl Russell, The Official Guide to American Attitudes ($89.95, hardcover, 425 pages) by Susan Mitchell and The Mid-Youth Market ($69.95, hardcover, 276 pages) by Cheryl Russell are available from New Strategist Publications, P.O. Box 242, Ithaca, N.Y., 14851, or by calling 607-273-0913. The company’s Web address is www.newstrategist.com.