Acxiom® Study Reveals Which Consumer Groups Are Most Likely to Spend During Challenging Economic Times

Behavior-based segmentation helps retailers improve strategies to connect with consumers

LAS VEGAS– (Oct. 14, 2008) − Acxiom® Corporation (Nasdaq: ACXM ) today announced the release of the first issue of its Retail Consumer Dynamics Study (RCD), an industry-specific analysis of consumer shopping behavior and attitudes in today’s difficult economic times. The study revealed variations in how each consumer segment looks at the economy today and how that perception affects whether and how they will defer spending; the type of stores they will visit; and generally how they go about their daily shopping.

Retail Consumer Dynamics is based on an integrated data set combining consumer survey study findings with Acxiom’s consumer demographic, life stage and lifestyle information. The survey was conducted by BIGresearch, a consumer intelligence firm, and the analysis using 18,924 panel data points was performed by Acxiom.

“Even though all consumers are facing huge economic uncertainty, their responses differ − and not along conventional demographic lines,” said Jie Cheng, vice president of analytics and consumer insights at Acxiom. “Rather than thinking in simple terms of who is spending more versus who is spending less, this study allows us to see how consumers are making their decisions on when and where to shop and what to purchase.”

Acxiom’s study identifies nine consumer behavioral segments that provide retailers with new, actionable insights to improve their ability to connect with key consumer targets. The study places these segments into three distinct groups reflecting consumers’ potential future behavior − those likely to loosen up on spending sooner, those not likely to change from current behavior, and those tightening spending and retreating further.

Insights drawn from this distinctive study allow retailers to anticipate shopping patterns and plan accordingly.           

Key research findings include:
• “Savvy Spenders” (mostly married, affluent, both young and mature, living in outer suburbs and rural communities) are more likely to spend sooner than other segments, given some improved circumstances

• Of the “Savvy Spenders,” 37 percent are shopping sales more often

• “Savvy Spenders” favor department stores for their combination of category offerings and brand/price options

• Those likely to shop more online are the “Tight with Purpose,” who are married with children, upper middle income with professional or management careers

• The “It’s My Life” segment − mostly affluent young consumers maintaining a child-free city lifestyle − are not letting current economic conditions change their shopping behavior. They shop in category killer stores to benefit from the blend of brand selection and price.

“This challenging economy creates an exceptional opportunity for retailers and consumer product manufacturers to target direct messages to specific consumer segments in order to sustain and maximize a return on marketing investment,” said Jim Harold, industry executive for retail and consumer markets at Acxiom.
“BIGresearch is excited to see Acxiom applying the consumer insights from our surveys to create actionable guidance for their clients,” said Gary Drenik, president and CEO of BIGresearch. “The combination of BIGresearch’s ongoing consumer panel surveys with Acxiom’s PersonicX® consumer life stage segmentation system provides an accurate look at how the weak economy is affecting shoppers.”

The Retail Consumer Dynamics study is powered by Acxiom’s InfoBase-X™, the largest, most accurate, comprehensive and multi-sourced data collection of U.S. consumer information in one source. PersonicX is Acxiom’s household-level segmentation suite that places U.S. households into one of 70 distinct segments and 21 life-stage groups based upon specific consumer behavior and demographic characteristics.

For a copy of Acxiom’s Retail Consumer Dynamics study, please link to http://www.acxiom.com/retailconsumerdynamics.

About Acxiom
The global leader in interactive marketing services, Acxiom connects clients with their customers through deep consumer insight, powering effective and profitable marketing initiatives and business decisions. Our consultative approach spans multiple industries and incorporates decades of experience in consumer data and analytics, information technology, data integration and consulting solutions for effective marketing across digital, Internet, email, mobile and direct mail channels. Founded in 1969, Acxiom is headquartered in Little Rock, Ark., and serves clients around the world from locations in the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific. For more information about Acxiom, visit www.acxiom.com

About Acxiom Retail and Consumer Markets
The world’s leading retail and consumer goods companies rely on Acxiom’s consumer-centric solutions to acquire, grow and retain loyal and profitable customer relationships by optimizing their marketing dollars.

About BIGresearch
BIGresearch is a consumer intelligence firm providing analysis of behavior in areas of products and services, retail, financial services, automotive, and media. BIGresearch’s syndicated Simultaneous Media Survey (SIMM) is focused on consumers to gauge their consumption across media, products and services. Marketers can use SIMM to develop the types of consumer-centric marketing plans required to increase advertisers’ ROI. The SIMM monitors more than 15,000 consumers twice each year. They also conduct the Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey (CIA) which monitors the pulse of more than 7,000 consumers each month. BIGresearch’s methodology provides the most accurate consumer information in the industry with a margin of error of +/- 1 percent.  http://www.bigresearch.com

Contacts:
BIGresearch                                                     Acxiom Corporation
Dianne Kremer                                                   Carol Cassil, APR
dianne@bigresearch.com                                    501.252.8854
614.846.0146