Trading up and career advancement strategies

Trading Up

Silverstein, Michael & Neil Fiske. Trading Up. New York: Portfolio, 2003.

Trading Up by Michael Silverstein and Neil Fiske details a recent trend in middle-class American consumer buying habits. Consumers have more disposable income than ever before because of a variety of demographic and sociological shifts in American society. For example, more women are working, which means households have more disposable income and single women have higher salaries. These demographic shifts have resulted in the fact that middle-class consumers are interested in using their extra income to buy goods once solely marketed at luxury shoppers, and that even discount stores wish to cultivate a higher-class image. For example, 'fast casual' restaurants like Panera Bread and Ruby Tuesday's have encroached upon the traditional dining-out market of fast food chains like McDonald's. Parents are willing to spend hundreds of dollars on children's toys provided the parents can be persuaded that the toys have educational content. Premium wine buying has become far more widespread than ever before, as it is rationalized as an investment.

Customization and hand-crafting has grown in popularity as a sign of unique 'quality,' thus a wider array of consumers might pay extra a silk-screened tapestry or embroidered rug for the home, rather than merely go to the nearest K-Mart. Instead, they will spend less on dish detergent and diapers at Wal-Mart, to compensate in their household budget. Perhaps watching Martha Stewart convinced the consumer of the value of such unique additions to the home. They may also buy Martha's towels in loyalty to her image of fine living at K-Mart. Now, even K-Mart proudly boasts Martha's up-scale products, as it too trades up in with the aim to dominate a wider and more affluent market segment.