A new consumer segment: The digital savvy

They drive luxury cars, wear snazzy clothes and spend a whole lot of time on the net – meet the digital savvy, a new consumer demographic identified by market researcher Scarborough Research.

According to Research Brief, the digital savvy are defined by their ownership of hi-tech items such as high-def TVs and PDAs and common use of the web to perform tasks like banking, blogging, gaming and content downloading.

Scarborough Research identified the group by putting together a list of more than 20 techie devices and habits and asking people to indicate how many they own or do – those that ticked eight or more out of the 20 get the nod for being digitally savvy.

And, according to the research, they are precisely the sort of people you want to have walking into your shop or visiting your e-commerce website, being:

• 56% more likely than the average consumer to have a luxury vehicle.
• 175% more likely to have spent $US500 or more on business clothing in the past year.
• 49% more likely to own a second home.
• 132% more likely to have an annual household income of $US150,000, and 57% of this group has an annual household income of $US75,000 or greater.

And, unsurprisingly, the digital savvy spend big online, with 35% spending more than US$1000 online over the past year.

“They are early adopters when it comes to fully integrating new technologies into their lives,” Scarborough Research senior vice president Gary Meo says. “Their shopping patterns, demographics and lifestyles could presage behaviours of consumers across the country.”

Read more on consumer values segments in Australia