Affluent Americans are "media omnivores," consuming an average of 8.5 media platforms weekly across video, audio, and print. They are also "audio omnivores," engaging heavily with all forms of audio, and increasing that engagement year over year. These are among the findings from How Affluents Navigate the Latest Media Landscape, a recent report from research firm Ipsos.
For the study, Ipsos defines Affluents as adults with household incomes north of $125,000. It’s an important consumer group with immense influence and purchasing power across numerous categories.
According to a Katz Media Group summation of the study, three-quarters of affluents listen to AM/FM radio, more than all other types of audio. That’s an increase of six percentage points over COVID-impacted 2020. Audio streaming services, which include AM/FM content as well as pureplay music services, reach 64% of affluents, a gain of six percentage points from 2020. Podcasts registered the biggest post-pandemic gain, up seven percentage points during the last two years, now reaching 51% of affluent adults.
“Ipsos' survey finds that affluents are spending significant time with audio, especially AM/FM radio,” Katz says in a post on its Sound Answers blog. They report listening to the radio for 4 hours a week, an increase of around an hour from the pandemic-impacted years 2020 and 2021. Other audio platforms are seeing increased usage as well. Streaming audio racks up 4.1 hours a week while downloaded music gets 3.1 hours.
Katz says that “offers proof that affluents are true audiophiles – supplementing their audio usage, not replacing one platform with another.”
Listen to Ipsos’s on-demand webinar to hear new findings from its latest Affluent Barometer research HERE.
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