Railway Catering
28/02/2000

Consumer research

In addition to the standard breaks, Mintel has analysed the consumer research in the following manner.

Lifestages are derived from analysis of the exclusive consumer research and are split into four main groups.

As part of an ongoing policy to find new ways of analyzing data, Mintel has created
Special Groups of consumers to typify consumer habits in the late 1990s/early 2000s. Unlike the lifestage groups, these groups represent only sections of the population and do not account for all adults.

Benefit dependents	Es aged 35+ - those who are reliant solely on state benefits (around 10% of the adult population).
Families on a tight budget	these are working C2Ds with at least one child aged under
	16 in the household - the majority have limited incomes
	which must be spent on a relatively large household
	(around 10% of the adult population).
Better off families	these are working ABC1s with at least one child aged
	under 16 (around 9% of the population).
Better off empty nesters	these are ABC1s aged 35-64 who are working with no
	children (aged under 16) living at home. They are,
	therefore, the classic no family/empty nesters with
	probably a high income that can be spent on
	themselves rather than on family (around 8% of the
	adult population).
Working managers	these are working ABs (around 9% of the population).
Working women	women in part or full time employment (around 21% of
	the adult population).

This report also uses consumer research analysed by ACORN category. ACORN is a geo-demographic segmentation method, using census data to classify consumers according to the type of residential area in which they live. Each postcode in the country can therefore, be allocated an ACORN category.

This classification is a more powerful differentiator of consumer behaviour than traditional socio-economic and demographic indicators. The categories, and their components, are as follows:

Group A - Thriving	Wealthy achievers, suburban areas.
(Approx 20% of population.)	Affluent greys, rural communities.
	Prosperous pensioners, retirement areas.
Group B - Expanding	Affluent executives, family areas.
(Approx 11% of population.)	Well-off workers, family areas.
Group C - Rising	Affluent urbanites, town and city areas.
(Approx 8% of population.)	Prosperous professionals, metropolitan areas.
	Better-off executives, inner city areas.
Group D - Settling	Comfortable middle agers, mature homeowning areas.
(Approx 25% of population.)	Skilled workers, homeowning areas.
Group E - Aspiring	New homeowners, mature communities.
(Approx 13% of population.)	White collar workers, better off multi-ethnic areas.
Group F - Striving	Older people, less prosperous areas.
(Approx 21% of population.)	Council estate residents, better off homes.
	Council estate residents, high unemployment.
	Council estate residents, greatest hardships.
	People in multi-ethnic, low income areas.

Value figures throughout this report are at retail selling prices unless otherwise stated.

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