To paraphrase F. Scott Fitzgerald, the rich are different. While the economic slowdown has affected all of us in many ways, money is still being spent by the upper crust on kitchen remodels. The key is understanding what consumers in this segment value and how to speak to them.

Upscale consumers have different mindsets from their counterparts of more moderate means, especially when it comes to their kitchens. That's the overriding message in the latest study from the Research Institute for Cooking & Kitchen Intelligence (RICKI). RICKI interviewed 1,087 consumers across the country in its latest study, Top of the Line: Insights into Upscale Consumers & Their Kitchens. As Riley Kirby, RICKI's chief of research, noted, "While income is not the only way to segment consumers, this study shows that income is a good indicator of how consumers differ in their attitudes and behaviors when it comes to kitchen remodeling and product selection."


INCOME SEGMENTS

The study was conducted to better understand attitudes about and usage of home kitchens among upscale consumers in the United States, as well as their future remodeling plans. The survey was conducted online among 1,087 consumers 18 years old and older in October and November 2009. The report compares study results between three groups of consumers:

1. Ultra High-End: Household income $200,000 or more (93 total interviews)
2. High-End: Household income between $100,000 and $199,999 (607 total interviews)
3. Moderate: Household income less than $100,000 (387 total interviews)

Throughout most of the report, results are shown for "Total Upscale Consumers"—the Ultra High-End and High-End consumer segments combined (700 total interviews)—as well as each of the three consumer segments individually. Inclusion of Moderate consumer data was included primarily to compare to responses from consumers at the upper end.


KITCHEN ENGAGEMENT

"We looked at the data by income groups and focused in on what we call the 'Ultra High-End' consumer, those with a household income of $200,000 or more," said Kirby. "The findings really pop in most cases for Ultra High-Ends. These consumers, for example, are far more brand-conscious than Americans overall." They also represent an important target for designers as well as manufacturers of kitchen products. Around a third of the Ultra High-Ends have actually made an improvement to their kitchens in the past year—although not necessarily a complete remodel—compared with only a fifth of those in the more moderate-income category, according to Kirby.

A key insight to keep in mind when marketing to Ultra High-End consumers is their affinity for their kitchens. In addition to being more brand-aware, these consumers tend to associate their kitchens with their image of themselves and what they want to project to others. Those in the Ultra High-End segment are "significantly more likely than the less affluent, for example, to say the look of their kitchens reflects upon them as people," said Kirby. "They are significantly more likely than their less affluent counterparts to agree with statements such as 'I want my kitchen to say a lot about me' and 'My kitchen is my favorite part of my home."





















DIFFERENCES & COMMONALITIES

Because their kitchens reflect how these consumers see themselves and what they want their kitchens to communicate to others—and because they have the financial means—they tend to spend more money on kitchen improvements. Among those who made an improvement to their kitchens in the past year, Ultra High-End consumers spent more than three times as much as those at the lower end. Some of the dollars went toward professional guidance. Ultra High-End consumers are at least twice as likely as those in the other two segments to have used a professional designer or architect for the project.






















A few study results, however, point toward commonalities among consumers in the three groups. "Granite countertops remain the overwhelming favorite of consumers in all segments," Kirby noted. "And the primary impetus for undertaking a kitchen remodel today among consumers in all three segments is 'thinking about staying in the home for a long time,' followed by 'worn out parts of the kitchen.'" In addition, when study participants were asked to pick from a list of 25 products that they would want most in their dream kitchens, "customized storage solutions for cabinets" topped the list for all three income brackets.


BRIGHT SPOT

RICKI's study also uncovered a bit of good news. According to Kirby, the findings indicate a significant bright spot common to consumers in all three income groups. A quarter of consumers overall—and a third of the Ultra High-Ends—say they are more inclined than they were a year ago to remodel a kitchen or a bath. So while the wealthy are different in some ways, the outlook has improved for all.


—Erin Gallagher is Chief of Insights for the Research Institute for Cooking & Kitchen Intelligence (RICKI), an independent, membership-based organization of manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers and publications whose revenues come from sales related to activities that take place in the kitchen, including kitchen remodeling. For more information, visit www.kitchenintelligence.org.