People often use clothing to help define themselves. Some people will wear only designer clothing. Others try to be as trendy as possible, no matter who the designer is. Still others will wear only comfortable clothes.
Being trendy can help some people feel confident. But trendiness isn’t just for the rich. Designer clothes are available to the masses. One key piece of a trendy wardrobe is designer jeans. They are worn by people of all ages, income levels and lifestyles.
Who wears designer jeans? Does it vary from women to men? Where do they live?
Buyers of women’s designer jeans
Many women are fashion-conscious — or want to be. Designer jeans are often part of trendy women’s wardrobes. According to Esri, 5.2% of women in the U.S. are likely to buy designer jeans, compared with 3.4% of men.
Who are these women and where do they live?
Buyers of women’s designer jeans most likely live along the Eastern Seaboard, in the South, and in parts of California, Arizona, Hawaii and Alaska. The trend is clearly localized. For example, women’s designer jeans are very popular in some areas of the South, but much less so in other areas. Small Southern towns will more likely include buyers of women’s designer jeans compared with more rural areas, even if they are very close to one another. Households in ZIP codes 02143 (Somerville, Mass.), 19142 (Philadelphia), 81620 (Avon, Colo.), and 94130 (San Francisco) are twice as likely as the average American to purchase women’s designer jeans.
What do we know about the types of people who would most likely buy women’s designer jeans? Esri developed a Tapestry Segmentation system that classifies U.S. residential neighborhoods into 65 unique market segments based on socioeconomic and demographic characteristics.
Residents of City Commons, International Marketplace, Laptops and Lattes, Las Casas, Metro Renters, Top Rung, Trendsetters, Urban Rows, and Young and Restless neighborhoods are one-and-a-half times more likely than the average American to buy women’s designer jeans. These neighborhoods differ markedly according to age, income, diversity, housing and employment.
Residents of Metro Renters, Trendsetters, and Young and Restless neighborhoods are young singles who prefer big-city life. They live in startup households in America’s more densely populated neighborhoods. They tend to be well-educated, working professionals who are either beginning their careers, attending college or already hold a degree. On the other hand, Laptops and Lattes residents are affluent, more established singles who have traded homeownership and child-rearing responsibilities for life in the city. International Marketplace and Las Casas neighborhoods are very diverse. Las Casas neighborhoods have a strong Hispanic influence. International Marketplace neighborhoods have a broad mix of cultural and racial diversity. City Commons neighborhoods are primarily in large Southern and Midwestern metropolitan areas. Residents are young singles or single parents, and most likely, are unemployed or work part-time. Top Rung residents are very wealthy and highly educated. Their median household income is $173,172. Conversely, residents of Urban Rows neighborhoods typically live in row houses in large Northeastern cities. They have a median household income of $29,467.
Residents of Southern Satellites and Midland Crowd neighborhoods are the least likely to purchase women’s designer jeans. Southern Satellites households are in the rural South and include married-couple families who work in the manufacturing and service industries. Midland Crowd neighborhoods are found in villages or towns in rural areas throughout the U.S. Most households are settled, married-couple families, half with children.
Buyers of men’s designer jeans
While many women are usually more fashion conscious than men, a lot of men put a high value on fashion and good-fitting designer jeans can be a key piece of their wardrobe. Where do they live?
Men who buy designer jeans most likely live along the Eastern Seaboard, in southern Florida and Texas, along the California coast, and in western Alaska. Adults in ZIP codes 11717 (Brentwood, N.Y.), 48235 (Detroit), 60661 (Chicago), and 91744 (La Puente, Calif.) are twice as likely as the average American to buy men’s designer jeans. Men in the Midwest are less likely to do so.
Who is most likely to buy men’s designer jeans?
Residents of Family Foundations and Urban Villages neighborhoods are twice as likely as the average American to buy men’s designer jeans. Family Foundations neighborhoods found in small, urban communities include a family mix of married couples, single parents, grandparents, and young and adult children. Urban Villages neighborhoods consist of multicultural families in U.S. “gateway” cities found primarily in California. The average family size is 4.16 people.
Residents of College Towns, Salt of the Earth, Silver and Gold, and Southern Satellites neighborhoods are least likely to buy men’s designer jeans. They differ by age, income and locale. Education is the focus of residents of College Towns neighborhoods. Their median age is 24.4 years, with a high concentration of 18-to-24-year-olds. Salt of the Earth residents are settled, traditional and hard-working. Most are married-couple families that live in single-family homes in small towns or rural areas. Silver and Gold residents are wealthy, retired professionals who have moved to sunny climates, such as Florida, Arizona and California. Southern Satellites neighborhoods are in the rural South. Residents are married-couple families who work in the manufacturing and service industries.
Why this matters
Knowing who buys designer jeans and where they live is critical information for retailers. This type of information can help drive decisions about stocking merchandise by type and quantity for each store as well as offering online promotions by customer type. For example, Nordstrom customers include some of the Tapestry segments that are most likely to purchase designer jeans but not all. Residents of Connoisseurs, Laptops and Lattes, Pacific Heights, Top Rung and Urban Chic neighborhoods are likely Nordstrom customers. The segments that overlap with potential jeans buyers are Laptops and Lattes and Top Rung. Therefore, store locations that cater to those types of consumers would be wise to stock more designer jeans. Potential Nordstrom shoppers do not overlap with customers who are most likely to buy men’s designer jeans. However, these segments could provide an opportunity if a store location wants to expand its customer footprint. Other retailers can also use this information. They can look for products or services that fit their existing customer base to gain more sales from existing customers or prospects.
More information about Esri’s data can be found at www.esri.com/data or to learn more about Esri in general, go to www.esri.com.
Pam Allison is a digital media, marketing strategist and location intelligence consultant. You can visit her blog at www.pamallison.com.