Social Grade

Social Status

Occupation
higher managerial, administrative or

upper middle class

professional
intermediate managerial, administrative

middle class

or professional
supervisory or clerical, junior managerial,

C1

lower middle class

administrative or professional

C2

skilled working class

skilled manual workers

working class

semi and unskilled manual workers

those at lowest level of

state pensioners or widows (no other

subsistence

earner), casual or lowest grade workers

ABC1 categories and their spending patterns in the current economic recession
Statistics reveal that the past few years have seen a steady increase in the number of adults who fall in the
A, B and C1 socio-economic group. This can be attributed to various factors such as the changes in the
economic conditions, rise in educational opportunities and changing employment patterns across the
globe. All these factors have resulted in a shift of focus from the traditional blue collar jobs to those in the
knowledge professions.
The rise in the ABC1 social grade, and the subsequent increase in spending power, has had a strong
impact across industries and markets in the UK.

Food markets: Historically, the ABC1 consumers have been ready to pay more for their food as compared
to the people in the lower social grade. Figures point to the fact that since 1999, ABC1 consumers have
strongly been influencing on many of the trends within the food market. This trend is not just based on
higher affluence but also on other factors such as a greater awareness of health issues and ethical
concerns relating to food. Also online shopping has been a very strong driving force for increased
spending on premium food products. But trends now show that during the present economic crisis,
manufacturers and retailers would find it harder to charge a premium on top of the already inflated basic
food prices as the ABC1 consumers would not really be willing to pay more.

Housing: In the times of the housing boom in the UK, it was the ABC1 consumers who drove the buy-to-let
market by investing in property as an alternative to pensions or other financial investments. The correction
in prices in the housing market in 2008 will have deep repercussions for the home-related products
market. Studies reveal that although consumers in the A and B groups are unlikely to change their
spending habits in the prevalent uncertainties in the market, those falling in the C1 would definitely change
theirs to weather the crisis.