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Middle Class Crisis




        ‘Squeezing’ tensions have long existed in middle class households but
        these have always been relevant to the climate. Where tensions existed
        they have been accompanied with continual strides towards
        improvement. Now this ‘squeezing’ has turned to ‘strangling’ and
        middle class households are beginning to witness a crisis.
Middle Class Crisis

Text
       From                                  To


                                       Working
                      Working hard
 Comfortable          towards goals
                                      hard to stay
                                         afloat
Middle Class Crisis

Food Poverty                                   Income drop




                                               Income of household with children fell five times more than
200,000 children live below the poverty line   childless households between 2009-2010. While the income of
                                               the poorest household falls by 18%
(Source: Irish Independent 2012)               (Source: Irish Times 2012/ Journal 2012)



Consumer Spending                                Back to school boost?




Consumer spending has reached it lowest          The back to school boost often enjoyed by retailers did not
                                                 materialise this quarter
since 2005 (Source: Checkout 2012)               (Source: Checkout 2012)
Back-to-school pressures
 become insurmountable
       80% of parents feel back to school costs are a burden




                                                   A poll by Bernardo’s
                        More than 115,000
The department of                                  found that parents
                        families representing
Social Protection                                  were paying €355 for a
                        over 200,000 children
received almost a                                  child in senior infants
                        have been receiving
1,000 back-to-school                               and €770 for children
                        the payments
allowance requests                                 going into first year in
                        automatically
                                                   secondary school

                                                Source: MCCP Trendstream™ Irish Times 2012
238% increase in jobless heads
of households
Households headed by the
unemployed rose from 15,000
in 2006 to 50,792 in 2011




An increase of 238%




Half of those households, no
one is employed

                                 Source: MCCPTrendstream™/CSO 2012
Middle Class Crisis

Homes and household charges are a major source of stress
        One in three people are concerned about losing their homes, whilst the
        amount of people worrying about homelessness has doubled since 2012*

 105,000 household                17,993 have                                While 6,400 are
 non-payment letters              registered for a                           awaiting resolution of
 were distributed**               waiver                                     queries


 The average annual cost of owning and
 maintaining a home in Ireland , based
 on todays house prices, is in the region
 of €15,400, which equates to 43% of the
 average current Irish annual wage which
 stands at €35,765***


                          Source: MCCPTrendstream™/*Journal 2012/**Department of the Environment / ***AA Ireland 2012
Middle Class Crisis

Stress is somewhat relieved by back to education
       The three main groups signing up for evening classes:
       • Those who are still in the workforce who are seeking to upgrade their skills
       • People who are out of the workforce but want to return to work
       • People who are seeking a social outlet


The majority of those taking diploma courses are
female aged 35-44


The majority undertaking degrees or PGC’s tend to
be younger with 64% under 34, with it being split
evenly between males and females

An estimated 300,000 (that’s one in ten of the Irish
adult population participate in education every
year)
                                                          Source: MCCPTrendstream™/AONTAS 2012
The solution is in ‘Micro Luxuries’
Micro Luxuries

Christmas Release                                                  Online Luxuries




Irish consumers used 70,000 tonnes of packaging over the
Christmas period, an increase of 25% from last year, including 6   2.6 million Irish people spend €116 a month to
million roles of wrapping paper, 5 million boxes of chocolates     secure value for money purchases (Source: Digital
and 20 million soft drink cans (Source: Repak 2012)
                                                                   Hub Development Agency 2012)


Retail Therapy                                                     Tech




 December retail sales were up in December 2012 for                71% of Irish consumers were predicted to have
 the first time in 5 years (Source: Retail Excellence              smartphones by the end of 2012 (Source: Tony
 Ireland 2012)                                                     Keohane CEO Tesco 2012)
Micro Luxuries

        So What?

Market in a way so that the consumer feels
no guilt over the purchase but still feels it
is an indulgence


Price is important but the premium nature
of the product will still influence
consumers’ decisions in this area. Brands
must focus on getting the value equation
right

Give consumers an affordable way to
experience your brand


A little and often is more relative in the
new normal
Micro Luxuries


We Expect…


                                         Mini sized luxuries have been
                                         popular for the last few years but it
 We still find ways to enjoy ourselves   seems like marketers have caught up
 and so while we continue to spend       with consumers and are giving more
 more than average at Christmas          ‘fun’ sized options than before. The
 than our European counterparts,         anticipation of the event is half the
 we’ve planned every element and         fun and 2013 is a year that we will
 are keeping an eye on the scale of      be planning in advance so as to
 our activities                          guarantee that our schedule is
                                         peppered with positive landmarks
For more information please
contact claire@mccp.ie or
enquiries@mccp.ie

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Middle Class Crisis

  • 1. Middle Class Crisis ‘Squeezing’ tensions have long existed in middle class households but these have always been relevant to the climate. Where tensions existed they have been accompanied with continual strides towards improvement. Now this ‘squeezing’ has turned to ‘strangling’ and middle class households are beginning to witness a crisis.
  • 2. Middle Class Crisis Text From To Working Working hard Comfortable towards goals hard to stay afloat
  • 3. Middle Class Crisis Food Poverty Income drop Income of household with children fell five times more than 200,000 children live below the poverty line childless households between 2009-2010. While the income of the poorest household falls by 18% (Source: Irish Independent 2012) (Source: Irish Times 2012/ Journal 2012) Consumer Spending Back to school boost? Consumer spending has reached it lowest The back to school boost often enjoyed by retailers did not materialise this quarter since 2005 (Source: Checkout 2012) (Source: Checkout 2012)
  • 4. Back-to-school pressures become insurmountable 80% of parents feel back to school costs are a burden A poll by Bernardo’s More than 115,000 The department of found that parents families representing Social Protection were paying €355 for a over 200,000 children received almost a child in senior infants have been receiving 1,000 back-to-school and €770 for children the payments allowance requests going into first year in automatically secondary school Source: MCCP Trendstream™ Irish Times 2012
  • 5. 238% increase in jobless heads of households Households headed by the unemployed rose from 15,000 in 2006 to 50,792 in 2011 An increase of 238% Half of those households, no one is employed Source: MCCPTrendstream™/CSO 2012
  • 6. Middle Class Crisis Homes and household charges are a major source of stress One in three people are concerned about losing their homes, whilst the amount of people worrying about homelessness has doubled since 2012* 105,000 household 17,993 have While 6,400 are non-payment letters registered for a awaiting resolution of were distributed** waiver queries The average annual cost of owning and maintaining a home in Ireland , based on todays house prices, is in the region of €15,400, which equates to 43% of the average current Irish annual wage which stands at €35,765*** Source: MCCPTrendstream™/*Journal 2012/**Department of the Environment / ***AA Ireland 2012
  • 7. Middle Class Crisis Stress is somewhat relieved by back to education The three main groups signing up for evening classes: • Those who are still in the workforce who are seeking to upgrade their skills • People who are out of the workforce but want to return to work • People who are seeking a social outlet The majority of those taking diploma courses are female aged 35-44 The majority undertaking degrees or PGC’s tend to be younger with 64% under 34, with it being split evenly between males and females An estimated 300,000 (that’s one in ten of the Irish adult population participate in education every year) Source: MCCPTrendstream™/AONTAS 2012
  • 8. The solution is in ‘Micro Luxuries’
  • 9. Micro Luxuries Christmas Release Online Luxuries Irish consumers used 70,000 tonnes of packaging over the Christmas period, an increase of 25% from last year, including 6 2.6 million Irish people spend €116 a month to million roles of wrapping paper, 5 million boxes of chocolates secure value for money purchases (Source: Digital and 20 million soft drink cans (Source: Repak 2012) Hub Development Agency 2012) Retail Therapy Tech December retail sales were up in December 2012 for 71% of Irish consumers were predicted to have the first time in 5 years (Source: Retail Excellence smartphones by the end of 2012 (Source: Tony Ireland 2012) Keohane CEO Tesco 2012)
  • 10. Micro Luxuries So What? Market in a way so that the consumer feels no guilt over the purchase but still feels it is an indulgence Price is important but the premium nature of the product will still influence consumers’ decisions in this area. Brands must focus on getting the value equation right Give consumers an affordable way to experience your brand A little and often is more relative in the new normal
  • 11. Micro Luxuries We Expect… Mini sized luxuries have been popular for the last few years but it We still find ways to enjoy ourselves seems like marketers have caught up and so while we continue to spend with consumers and are giving more more than average at Christmas ‘fun’ sized options than before. The than our European counterparts, anticipation of the event is half the we’ve planned every element and fun and 2013 is a year that we will are keeping an eye on the scale of be planning in advance so as to our activities guarantee that our schedule is peppered with positive landmarks
  • 12. For more information please contact claire@mccp.ie or enquiries@mccp.ie