VALS™ Lens Applying VALS™ to current events May 2014
In this issue:
In History: 1964
The 1960s are remarkable because events of the decade changed the United States forever. In particular, 1964 earns a 50th-anniversary acknowledgment as a watershed year: Lyndon Johnson wins an election victory after serving as president following John Kennedy's assassination. Johnson declares "War on Poverty." US involvement in Viet Nam expands. Three young civil rights workers are murdered in Mississippi. The country's first sit-in takes place at the University of California. The iconic 1960s Ford Mustang goes on sale. Race riots occur in many major US cities; Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The Beatles come to the States. Folk singer Bob Dylan releases The Times They Are a-Changin, and the Rolling Stones release their debut album. Dancing in the Streets, by Martha and the Vandellas, is the summer's theme song. The average annual income is $6000, the cost of a new house is $13 000, and the cost of a new car is $3500. Events of the 1960s serve as reference points for Age Scouts (people born between 1940 and 1945) and Older Baby Boomers. Some Age Scouts are already retired; until 2030, 10 000 Baby Boomers a day will reach retirement age. Overall, the generation's characteristic is social consciousness; today it still is. Over one-third of Older Baby Boomers are socially conscious: 15% Innovators and 22% Thinkers.
In Small Business: Going to the Dogs
According to the American Pet Products Association (APPA), in 2013, people spent $56 billion on pets. Time Magazine (14 April 2014) points out that this amount is "more than the GDP of Luxembourg." The APPA's National Pet Owners Survey reports that more US households own dogs (56.7 million) than own cats (45.3 million), but the total numbers owned reverse: people own 96 million cats, in comparison with 83 million dogs. Because owners increasingly consider pets to be family members (and some pets substitute for children), business opportunities exist to serve upscale pets—dogs in particular. Recent small-business start-ups include Swifto (an app that enables dog owners to book dog walkers), DogVacay (a website where owners can book pet "hosts" while they vacation), and BarkBox, a subscription service that delivers treats, toys, and gadgets monthly. Spring 2012 VALS™/GfK MRI reports that, at minimum, 35% of US adults own a dog. Innovators and Survivors are less likely than average to do so; all other groups are average (45% of adults). Although Innovators are below average in dog ownership, they are the most likely to be able to afford—and be inclined—to pamper their pet(s). As a target, dog-ownership by 9 million Innovators is nothing to sniff at.
In Public Transit: Use Hits Record High
In March 2014, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) released 2013 ridership figures. The number of trips on public transportation has increased for eight consecutive years to almost 11 billion trips in 2013—"the highest transit ridership in 57 years." Ridership exceeds population growth. Regardless of city size, ridership rose across the board; cities as diverse in size as Ann Arbor, Michigan; Cleveland, Ohio; Yuma, Arizona; and New York City, New York, all report growth. About 5% of US adults (10.9 million) ride a bus on an average weekday; 2.5% ride a subway or metro, and slightly more than 1% ride a train. Innovators, Experiencers, and Strivers are more likely than average to ride a bus. Innovators are more than three times as likely as all adults to ride the subway or metro—most major cities with this service boast higher-than-average proportions of Innovators and attract Experiencers. Innovators and Experiencers are also more likely than average to ride a train—both the East and West Coast attract these groups and have well-developed commuter-train systems. Ridership increases are not just the result of economic conditions (although vehicle miles driven increased only 0.3%) but also the result of ongoing public-transportation investments and environmental concerns by Innovators.