Week 3 EOC: My Demographic

“Demography is defined as the study of people's vital statistics, such as age, race and ethnicity, and location” (MKGT, 55). People are the most vital component of all markets, making population and understanding the groups within a population so important to the marketing industry. Those groups can be broken down as follows: Tweens, Teens, Millennials (or Generation Y), Generation X, and baby boomers.

I was born on November 16, 1985, therefore, I would be considered a Millennial. A Millennial or Generation Y are people born between 1979 and 1994. I am part of the older Gen Yers, “oldest Gen Yers, born in 1979, turned thirty-five years old in 2014. They have started their careers, and many have become parents for the first time, leading to dramatic lifestyle changes” (MKGT,55).  Although, I am not a parent yet, I am going through some significant lifestyle changes. I started my career at a very young age, straight out of college I took on a management position and continued to do very well in the retail industry. While some Millennials were highly impacted by the Great Recession of 2008-2009, I continued to move forward and onward. Purchasing a home, buying a car, and getting married made me one of the “lucky ones.”

Recently, I made the choice to return to school and basically start over. I moved away from Japan and away from my husband to refocus my goals and establish a career for myself. Working in the fashion industry as a buyer and visual merchandiser has been a long time goal of mine. Understanding “demographics are significant because the basis for any market is people. Demographic characteristics are strongly related to consumer buying behavior in the marketplace.” (MKGT,55). Being able to analyze and make decisions based on that information will play a huge role in my ability to excel in my career goals.