Income and social class are closely related but distinct.
Social class is a culturally-defined group to which a consumer belongs based on resources like prestige, income, occupation, and education.
Habitus refers to mental and cognitive structures through which individuals perceive the world based largely on their standing in a social class.
Six major classes identified in the United States are Upper Class, Lower Upper Class, Upper Middle Class, Lower Middle Class, Upper Lower Class, and Lower Lower Class.
Social class is an important societal and cultural issue observed in everyday life.
Homogamy or assortative mating refers to the finding that most marriages are comprised of people from similar classes.
Social stratification can be defined as the division of society into classes that have unequal access to scarce and valuable resources.
Status symbols are products or objects used to signal one's place in society.
Religion represents one of the key institutions that shape consumer culture.
Affiliation with a religion provides a basis for microcultures within national or regional cultures.
Exhibit 10.5 illustrates the religious percentages in the U.S. and other select nations of the world.
Budget allocations and consumers' food and clothing are influenced by religion.
Stigmatization means that the consumer is marked in some way that indicates their place in society.
Social class exists throughout the world. Middle class people comprise the significant consumer population at China, Japan, and India.
Microcultures that grow around any minor phenomenon such as sports or music can be labeled as street microcultures. Microcultures can grow out of gaming experiences, virtual communities, and almost any other consumer activity that brings consumers together with something in common.