Report: Affluent consumer habits, demographics and splurges

The assumption that wealthy consumers lead lives filled with frivolous, frequent spending sprees is often inaccurate.

New research from eMarketer on affluent Americans reveals the makeup and behaviors of this sought-after segment are nuanced and complex. Specifically, the demographics and spending habits of the wealthy vary significantly from how they’re often portrayed.

Here are some key insights from the report:

Demographics

Contrary to the idea of trust-fund playboys and kept women, affluent Americans are more likely to be married and more likely to live in households with two income-earning adults than the population at large, the analysis found.

A poll from Deseret News and the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy at Brigham Young University, as cited by eMarketer, found that 70 percent of Americans with a household income of $100,000+ were married, compared with 55 percent of those with an income of $30,000–$99,999 and 25 percent of those with incomes under $30,000.