Where would marketing be without the study of demographics? But what was once a simple breakdown of age, sex and income has evolved into a complex analysis of how consumer behaviour is driven by dozens of lifestyle and social factors.
Every neighbourhood in Canada has a specific profile in terms of income, ethnicity, average education level, social mobility and the like. Environics Analytics tries to distill these factors into easy-to-understand segments with its PRIZM5 groupings, which it updates anually and overhauls every five to 10 years with new data. Census information shows strong growth in Canada’s Chinese, South Asian, Filipino, Latin American and Arab communities. That growth, coupled with evolving research techniques, saw the number of PRIZM5 ethnic lifestyle groupings increase to 14 from 11. The three new segments profiled here showcase a wide range of lifestyles, from young urbanites to families in the ‘burbs.
South Asian Achievers
These upper-middle-income South Asian families are the most affluent of PRIZM5’s South Asian segments. It’s a fast-growing group, typically forming ethnic enclaves in suburban settings (especially around Toronto). Most are middle-aged and more than 80% are visible minorities with a variety of educational backgrounds.
Asian New Wave
This group of Asian couples and singles is the least affluent of the Asian segments, and tends to live in downtown Toronto or Vancouver—and take advantage of the downtown lifestyle. Almost half of them have a post-secondary education and hold jobs in the science, business and sales sectors. Being a younger demographic, they also tend to indulge in recreational activities more often.
Enclaves Multiethniques
This new segment is based in Quebec where immigrants (often arriving from French-speaking countries such as Algeria and Vietnam) blend with the province’s francophone population. In addition to French, one-third speak a non-official language, such as Spanish or Arabic. Their education levels vary but tend to be university or lower, and most earn below-average incomes.
