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MP93219

MAPS DINKY MARKET OCTOBER 1999

Overview

Editor: Market Assessment
ISBN: 1-86111-114-2

This report covers: DINKY, Dual Income No Kids, Fertility rates, In Vitro Fertilisation, Marriage, Divorce, Personal Disposable Income, Consumer Expenditure, Tax Benefits, Household Stock, Tenure, Consumer Durables, Lifestyle, Childlessness, Shopping, Savings, Pensions, Holidays, Eating Out, Leisure, Entertainment, Pubs, Exercise, Sport

Companies covered include:

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

DINKYs are more than a marketing phenomenon. Couples without children now represent the single largest family group (28 percent); furthermore, this is the only family group that has not registered a decline in size in relation to the total number of households since the 1960s.

Around 22 percent of 25-34 year old couple households have no children. This percentage falls to 12 percent of the 35-44 year old group. 14 percent of the 16-44 age group live in DINKY households with no children. The DINKY group is growing in significance — shifting demographic factors are adding to the number of singles and childless couples.

This report highlights important factors that affect the DINKY market - foremost among these are some of the important choices which DINKY couples make in relation to having children. There is no uniform pattern to decision-making on whether to have children or not.

Results for a special NOP survey commissioned for this report show that DINKY couples do not regard the decision whether or not to have children as a cut-and-dried issue. 47 percent of respondents agreed that having children improves the quality of life, only 17 percent agreed with the statement that having children reduces it.

Independent research indicates that the growing number of women choosing not to have children are doing so as a conscious move to break a pattern of expectations that motherhood is the only option open to them. Career opportunities have expanded for women, increasing the importance of work and diminishing the attractions of home life. Leisure opportunities, particularly in travel, have expanded enormously in the 1990s - making the decision to relinquish work and start a family even harder.

DINKYs are becoming more significant players in consumer markets as economic conditions brighten. Consumer confidence, if measured by the response to the NOP survey conducted for this report, shows that half of DINKY couples believe that their financial situation has improved over the last two years. Lower interest rates will continue to bring higher disposable incomes to DINKY couples.

House price rises will preoccupy DINKY consumers over the coming year. Although DINKYs are twice as likely to own their properties than single people, they are less enthusiastic purchasers than adults with families are. One in five DINKY households will own their own property, compared with one in three small family households.

In the holiday market, young childless couples are second only to the affluent 45-54 age group in frequency of holiday taking. DINKYs like to travel and prefer to spend their time outside the UK: 4.2 million DINKYs are estimated to have gone on holiday abroad this year.

DINKYs’ main social focus lies outside the home. DINKYs eat out more than any other section of the under 44s and are more keen to try out new formats on offer — only 39 percent of DINKYs prefer to entertain at home.

There is a noticeable bias in results for various social status categories. AB couples are least likely to prefer entertaining friends at home (13 percent). For these couples, preparation of food and home is likely to be costly in time and dining out will be a more favoured option.

Text © 1999 MAPS

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