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Understanding U.S. Consumers
January 2008
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Introduction
Updated in January 2008, this handbook introduces SRI Consulting Business Intelligence's (SRIC-BI's) VALS™ segmentation of U.S. adult consumers. The VALS system defines eight segments, roughly equal in size. Each segment has a unique combination of psychological attributes and demographics that underlie consumer decision making. As a result, each segment has a distinct consumer mind-set and exhibits distinct patterns of consumer behavior.
On many levels, VALS confirms the intuitions that we have about differences and similarities between consumers. What VALS offers, beyond intuitive appeal, is a rigorous and scientific treatment of the psychological differences and similarities between consumers and how these differences and similarities influence the choices consumers make. And sometimes VALS demonstrates that our assumptions about consumers conflict with reality. For instance, VALS shows that—contrary to popular perception—both traditional and trendy people exhibit innovative behavior.
VALS captures the major and most useful contrasts between consumers. With eight segments, VALS is a practical simplification of a complex market reality. VALS describes people and behaviors at the group level; individuals reflect the characteristic behaviors of these groups to varying degrees. Some people are archetypal, with mind-sets and behaviors that represent the core of the segment. Others reflect some, but not all, tendencies of the segment.
A major contribution of VALS is to provide an understanding of consumers that goes beyond demographics (age, income, education, gender, and so forth) by including the key psychological attributes that motivate consumer behavior. This contribution is critical because VALS demonstrates that consumers with the same demographics often have different motivations. This fact typically plays out in one of two ways: People with the same demographics engage in different consumer behaviors, or people with the same demographics engage in the same behaviors for different reasons.
Marketers, in particular, use VALS to reach and motivate consumers on the basis of how consumers see themselves and how they seek to express their identity in the marketplace. Both of these key pieces of information derive from a psychological understanding of consumers.
The VALS system links psychological attributes and consumer choices using two dimensions: primary motivation and resources.
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Table of Contents
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| Part I: The VALS™ Framework |
2 |
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Primary Motivations: The Psychological Drivers of Consumer Behavior |
3 |
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Ideals Primary Motivation |
4 |
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Achievement Primary Motivation |
4 |
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Self-Expression Primary Motivation |
4 |
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Resources: More Than Age, Education, and Income |
5 |
| Part II: The VALS™ Groups |
10 |
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Ideals-Motivated Groups |
11 |
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Thinkers |
11 |
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Believer |
14 |
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Achievement-Motivated Groups |
17 |
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Achievers |
17 |
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Strivers |
20 |
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Self-Expression–Motivated Groups |
23 |
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Experiencers |
23 |
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Makers |
26 |
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High- and Low-Resource Groups |
29 |
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Innovators |
29 |
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Survivors |
32 |
Tables |
| Primary Motivations and Consumer Behavior |
5 |
| Proportion of VALS™ Segments the U.S. Adult Population |
7 |
| Geographic Distribution of Primary Motivation Groups |
7 |
| The VALS™ Questionnaire |
8 |
| Thinkers |
13 |
| Believers |
16 |
| Achievers |
19 |
| Strivers |
22 |
| Experiencers |
25 |
| Makers |
28 |
| Innovators |
31 |
| Survivors |
34 |
Figures |
| Primary Motivation and Resources |
3 |
| VALS™ Framework |
6 |
Boxes |
| Thinkers |
12 |
| Believers |
15 |
| Achievers |
18 |
| Strivers |
21 |
| Experiencers |
24 |
| Makers |
27 |
| Innovators |
30 |
| Survivors |
33 |
Appendixes |
| Frequently Asked Questions |
A-1 |
| A Hypothetical Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry |
B-1 |
| VALS™ Theory and Development |
C-1 |
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