Despite the narrowing of the digital divide, interactive marketing remains an outstanding medium through which to reach affluent consumers.
Americans with a household income of $100,000 or more are highly engaged Internet users. Nearly 26 million such consumers used the Internet in August, spending an average of 27.6 hours online -- more than any other income segment. Internet users living in affluent households consumed an average of nearly 3,000 pages in August, almost 300 pages more than the average Internet user.
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U.S. Internet Users by Household Income
August 2003
U.S. Home, Work and University Users
Source: comScore Media Metrix
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Total Unique Visitors
(000) |
Average Usage Time per Month |
Average Pages per Visitor |
| Total Internet Users |
148,811 |
26.5 hrs |
2,648 |
| $15,000 - $24,999 |
11,422 |
23.3 hrs |
2,292 |
| $25,000 - $39,999 |
18,144 |
26.4 hrs |
2,526 |
| $40,000 - $59,999 |
37,719 |
26.4 hrs |
2,670 |
| $60,000 - $74,999 |
23,206 |
26.4 hrs |
2,577 |
| $75,000 - $99,999 |
24,654 |
27.5 hrs |
2,636 |
| $100,000 or more |
25,793 |
27.6 hrs |
2,964 | |
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2. 22 Million Affluent Shoppers Online
Nearly 84% of Internet users with a household income of $100,000 or more visited a Retail site in August. Neiman Marcus, well known for its focus on upscale merchandise, was the top ranked Retail site by the percentage of visitors with a household income of $100,000 or more. In August, 37% of all visitors to NiemanMarcus.com lived in households with an income of $100,000 or more. Interestingly, CostCo -- perhaps the polar opposite of Neiman Marcus -- was the second highest ranked Retail site by the composition of total visitors living in affluent households (31 percent).
In August, Abercrombie & Fitch and Macy's were the highest ranked apparel retailers by percentage of total visitors with household income of $100,000 or more (30 and 29 percent respectively). IBM and Nextel, two brands heavily marketed to business people, also skew toward affluent consumers online.
Affluent Users Are Brand Loyal Travel Shoppers
Americans with household incomes of $100,000 or more are 20% more likely to visit a Travel site than the average Internet user. In August, 54% of affluent Internet users visited a travel site, compared to 47% of the total Internet population. Interestingly, when measured by relative composition of site visitors, affluent users are disproportionately likely to visit branded travel supplier sites (such as Delta.com or Hilton.com) than the average Internet user. In fact, when the 30 largest Travel sites are ranked by percent of site visitors with household income of $100,000 or more, the top 10 sites are all airline or hotel supplier properties.
comScore research using the Audience insite Measures (AiM) database has shown that affluent Internet users are 25% more likely to be members of frequent traveler programs than the average Internet user. The effectiveness of these programs in driving brand loyalty among affluent consumers is clearly evident in visitation levels at branded supplier sites, which often offer bonuses to loyalty program members for booking directly with the supplier instead of through an online agency.
Business and Local News Popular Among Affluent Users
For those marketers not yet reaching their fair share of affluent consumers, news sites provide a compelling advertising and consumer acquisition opportunity. In August, 61% of Internet users with household incomes of $100,000 or more visited a site in the General News category. In fact, affluent Internet users are 10% more likely to visit news sites than the average Internet user.
Business-related news sites are particularly popular among affluent consumers. More than a third of all visitors to WSJ.com and BusinessWeek.com have household incomes of $100,000 or more. Tribune Interactive sites in Los Angeles (LATimes.com), Chicago (ChicagoTribune.com) and New York (Newsday.com) skew heavily towards affluent readers.
Approximately 25% of New York Times Digital visitors, or 2.8 million people, live in affluent households. This composition extends the site's reach to fully 11% of the U.S. online affluent population.