Britain’s ‘moving house’ market
Kantar Media’s Alice Dunn this month takes a look at the ‘moving house’ market, and uses the latest TGI study findings to reveal what marketers need to do to effectively target this group in tough economic times.
After George Osborne’s most recent budget comes renewed concerns about money and spending for many consumers in Britain. Newly released insight from Kantar Media’s TGI study reveals key changes in consumer behaviour that are undoubtedly influenced by key economic events.
The ‘moving house’ market is particularly lucrative for marketers to tap into due to the wealth of opportunities this presents for new consumer purchases, including household appliances, DIY and electronics.
Insight from our TGI study reveals the number of British adults who have bought or sold a house in the last year has fallen by a third since 2008 – from 1.7 million down to 1.2 million. This is indicative of the current economic climate in which fewer people can afford to move, meaning that reaching those that are is even more important for marketers.
However, the number of people who intend to buy or a sell a house in the next year has actually increased by 5% over the same five year period – from 2.4 million in 2008 to 2.6 million. This indicates there are many more people who want to move house in Britain than are able to, most likely owing to economic situations. This is useful as an indicator of the mindset of the ‘moving house’ market for marketers – despite not all being able to yet, this is certainly an aspirational market.
Honing in on the 1.2 million adults who have moved house in the last year, they are over twice as likely as the average British adult to fall into the 25-34 age bracket. In keeping with this younger demographic, they are most likely to fall into our TGI Lifestage groups ‘Nest Builders’ (aged 15-34, living as a couple and do not live with children) or ‘Playschool Parents’ (living with youngest child 0-4). This provides a steer as to the sorts of things they may be looking to buy for their new homes.
This group who have recently moved home are astute with their money – 64% more likely than the average British adult to believe switching utilities suppliers is well worth the effort, suggesting they have a keen eye for the best deal. They are also 41% more likely to look for profitable ways to invest their money.
They have an ethical side too – they are 54% more likely to only buy products from a company with whose ethics they agree. This all points to them being a discerning bunch and marketers should take note in order to get the most effective brand messages across to them.
In terms of the most efficient means of reaching these house-movers, our TGI insight reveals they are 42% more likely than the average Brit to be amongst the heaviest fifth of consumers of the internet. They are also 26% more likely to be amongst the heaviest fifth of cinema goers, with their favourite genres being foreign language films and documentaries. They are also keen to keep up-to-date with newspapers online – they are 64% more likely to be willing to pay to access content on newspaper websites.