Prepare for Pickiness to Pale

People who consider themselves socially advantaged are more picky consumers than are people who consider themselves socially disadvantaged. The University of Iowa researchers who conducted the studies supporting this finding defined pickiness as a willingness to acquire a product only if the product is at or close to ideal.
     Are those study findings telling you something you didn’t know already? My guess is no, the findings do not.
     Okay, since the findings appear to be common sense, is there anything to be learned to assist in improving your marketing profitability? My argument is yes, the findings can, but only if you dig deeper than the what to ask about the why.
     Based on their hypotheses and study results, the researchers say the effect of social advantage on pickiness cannot be completely explained as being due only to the advantaged having greater resources with which to access and possess items. Entitlement also matters. Even when the other factors are accounted for, the socially advantaged feel more entitled to be picky than do the socially disadvantaged. Entitlement is the feeling that you are more important and more deserving than inferior others.
     This sense of entitlement is related to what the researchers refer to as Social Dominance Orientation. In my email exchange with Prof. Bryce Pyrah, the primary researcher, he writes, “People who endorse inequalities (those high in SDO) demonstrate the differences that those who are advantaged are pickier than those who are disadvantaged because of entitlement. Those who challenge existing inequalities do not show these differences on entitlement or subsequent pickiness.
     “This sense of entitlement arises due to people's general motivation to justify the current hierarchy and their place in it. That is why those who are advantaged tend to feel more entitled, as they believe that their standing in their hierarchy is justified, and thus feel like they deserve more. And so, those who are low in SDO (or those who challenge the hierarchy) don't show this pattern.”
     I contend that your understanding of this why will be helpful by giving you a heads-up to prepare for pickiness to fade somewhat in the future. At present, there are deeply-entrenched wealth, racial, and ethnic inequalities in society. However, rumblings of a drive to moderate these inequalities can be seen in public polling. I anticipate reductions in entitlement deriving from our culture’s Social Dominance Orientation in the foreseeable future.

Successfully influence the most prosperous & most loyal consumer age group. For the specific strategies & tactics you need, click here.

Offer Poor Items to Low Self-Esteem Shoppers 

Box In Gift Shoppers for the Picky 

Hover Within the Shopper’s Power Level 

Insulate Perfectionists from Unwise Risk