APPROACHINGTHEMARKET 37AD2.3 Thefocusisonthepre-teentoyoungadultsegment,assumingtheywilltestprod-
uctfeaturesatthestore.purchasesoftheirown. Manufacturersofproductssuchastoys,records,snackfoods,and
videogameshavedesignedpromotionaleffortsdirectedatthisgroup.Morerecently, the
elderlymarket(age 65 andover)hasgrowninimportanceforproducersofproductssuch
aslow-costhousing,crui~es,hobbies,andhealthcare.
Genderhas alsohistoricallybeena goodbasisformarketsegmentation.Whilethere
aresomeobviousproductsdesignedformenorwomen,manyofthesetraditionalbound-
ariesarechanging,andmarketingmustapprisethemselvesofthesechanges.Theemer-
genceoftheworkingwomen,forinstance, hasmadedeterminationofwho performscertain
activitiesinthefamily(e.g., shopping,carservicing),andhowthefamilyincomeisspent
moredifficult.NewmagazinessuchasMen'sGuidetoFashion,ModemBlackMan,Sports-
wearInternational,NV,andVibeindicatehowmediais attemptingtosubsegmentthemale
segment.Thus,thesimpleclassificationofmaleversusfemalemaybeusefulonlyi~sev-
eralotherdemographicandbehavioralcharacteristicsareconsideredaswell.
Anotherdemographictraitcloselyassociatedwithageandsexisthefamitylifecycle.
Thereis evidenceiliat,basedonfamilystructure(i.e.,numberofadultsandchildren),fam-
iliesgothroughverypredictablebehavioralpatterns. Forexample, a youngcouplewhohave
oneyoungchildwillhavefardifferentpurchasingneedsthana coupleintheirlatefifties