Abstract:

This paper describes how new profiles for the main department and variety store chains in Sweden were created based on research where target groups were defined not only in traditional terms such as age, sex, consumer preferences, attitudes, and shopping behaviour etc but also as people belonging to the same life-style with the same specific values and behaviour. The life-style analysis gave a deeper understanding of the consumer and helped defining the profile in terms of product mix, store lay-out, advertising message and price structure. The life- style approach was a new way to look at consumers and customers and helped uniting the staff - at the head-quarters as well as in the various local stores.