This paper examines the consumer buying behavior of New Zealanders across multiple dimensions, including income status, occupation, education, geographic location, demographics, lifestyle, culture, possessions, and level of influence. Using New Zealand as a case study — with Hennessey Cognac as an illustrative product — the paper analyzes how the country's dual cultural identity (European and Māori) shapes purchasing decisions. It considers how middle-income earnings, rural-versus-urban geography, educational attainment, and status-seeking behavior interact to produce distinct consumption patterns across the North and South islands, ultimately concluding that cultural background and disposable income are the primary determinants of high-end consumer purchases.
The paper demonstrates applied segmentation analysis: it takes a standard marketing framework (income, occupation, education, geography, demographics, lifestyle, culture, possessions, and influence) and systematically applies each dimension to a single national market. This approach shows how theoretical consumer behavior models translate into real-world purchasing predictions for a specific product category.
The paper opens with a framing introduction that previews all analytical dimensions. Each subsequent section addresses one or two factors in turn, first explaining the general principle with supporting research citations, then applying it specifically to New Zealand. The conclusion synthesizes findings by returning to the cognac example, arguing that cultural identity and disposable income are the decisive variables. This parallel structure — general principle followed by national application — is consistent throughout and provides a replicable model for market analysis papers.
This research paper examines the consumer behavior of people in New Zealand. The paper is organized around how consumer buying behavior is affected by income status, occupation, education, geography, demographics, lifestyles and culture, possessions, and level of influence — all in relation to the desire to purchase a product such as Hennessey Cognac.
Income status matters greatly when considering whether a person will purchase a high-priced specialty item such as cognac, and New Zealanders vary in their ability to make such purchases due to differences in wealth. Occupation is a less decisive factor because people in different occupations have differing levels of pay. Education does not appear to matter greatly either, except insofar as better-educated individuals tend to earn more over their lifetimes. This could be a stronger factor in other countries, but New Zealand has a higher percentage of people who obtain only secondary education than other OECD members (OECD, 2012).
Geographic regions may be a more significant factor: people on the South Island are mainly of European origin and would be more likely to purchase premium spirits, while people on the North Island are largely Māori. Demographics play a role in much the same way that geography does. Lifestyle — for example, wealth versus poverty — is probably the biggest factor in any country. In New Zealand, the disparity of wealth is relatively modest, so lifestyle may not be as strong a determinant as other factors. Possessions speak to the wealth factor, as does level of influence. A person who wants to be seen as someone of influence is more likely to drink high-end spirits than someone who is unconcerned with that form of status.
A person's income greatly affects what they buy, the stores they frequent, and how often they purchase goods (Booth, 2008). Consumer behavior is linked to many different factors, but as income increases it is predictable that people will purchase more in a free-market economy such as New Zealand's. It may seem that the reason is simply that greater wealth enables more purchasing, but the relationship is more complicated. According to research conducted by Bauman, Barton, and Elliot (2007) regarding how consumers act when selecting a banking institution, people will increase their spending up to a certain point — one that differs for every individual or couple — and then begin saving the excess. It appears that people have a predetermined threshold in their minds, shaped by personality and experience, beyond which they will not go in terms of consumption.
Middle-income spending is relatively straightforward: people consume at a level consistent with their income, buying what they need and the few luxuries that income allows (Booth, 2008). Lower-income individuals may initially seem puzzling, however. Different countries use different income thresholds to define "low" income, but the category is often associated with poverty — families who earn only enough to meet basic needs and have no surplus for luxury goods. One might expect this group to be the most conservative with money, yet some lower-income earners spend more than their earnings appear to allow, either because they are savvy consumers or because they receive government assistance (Godwin, 2003). Many in this category spend more time shopping than people at other income levels because they must search longer for deals. Research suggests that people who receive government assistance are often less careful with that money because it is perceived as "free," leading to more frivolous spending (Godwin, 2003).
New Zealand is not a wealthy country in terms of average income. The average worker earned the equivalent of $35,304 in 2012 U.S. currency, placing it solidly in the middle-income category. Based on the research discussed above, New Zealand consumers tend to buy what they need and spend modest amounts of disposable income on luxuries and savings. The national savings rate has actually been negative, though it has been recovering in recent years (NZ Treasury, 2011), meaning that people are spending beyond their earnings through credit. This pattern is consistent with many other Western nations, a category New Zealand belongs to given its ties to the United Kingdom.
Occupations in New Zealand broadly resemble those in other British Commonwealth nations, and most of the population is employed. Consumer behavior in every nation is affected by the occupations people hold because those occupations determine both what goods an individual needs to purchase and what quality of goods they can afford. Some occupations require specific tools or resources that are costly due to their exclusivity, but such job-related purchases are usually handled by employers or occur so infrequently that they do not constitute a large share of personal spending. Occupation matters primarily because it determines the income from which a person can purchase goods (Olsen, 2005).
New Zealand remains the same type of occupational nation it has been for most of its history. Although agriculture is no longer the dominant industry, a significant portion of the population still derives income from rural sources, including dairy farming, sheep farming, and lumber. The country has never become a major producer of electronics or manufactured goods; many such products are imported. Over the past two decades, tourism — particularly ecotourism — has boomed, in large part because of the international exposure generated by major film productions shot on location in New Zealand. The country is widely seen as an unspoiled landscape featuring some of the last old-growth forests on earth (Ecotours New Zealand, 2012). The filming of all three "Lord of the Rings" films and the two "Hobbit" epics brought significant Hollywood investment and created new occupations ranging from location scout to film extra, benefitting local workers and the broader economy.
Occupation also relates to consumer behavior through job confidence (Halstead, Jones & Cox, 2007). When people are satisfied with their current position, they are more likely to spend, presumably because job satisfaction correlates with an expectation of long-term, stable income. In New Zealand, average job tenure is comparable to that in the rest of the industrialized world, so spending habits are similarly comparable.
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World Salaries. (2012). New Zealand average salaries & expenditures. Retrieved from
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