CONSUMER ANALYSIS (Slides 33 – 51)
CONSUMER CHARACTERISTICS
Cultural: Belgium: Consumer Profile | Market Research Report | Euromonitor + Rapport annuel 2022 Oxfam
Belgique correction.pdf
2022 was marked by the begging of the Ukraine War and with that the inflation has become noticeable specially on
food and energy. This affects purchasing power all over the world. However, the secondhand sales have registered
a great expansion by offering fair and sustainable commerce. Another important result is that the Belgium
population became more diverse, with people with lots of different backgrounds.
According to the 2023 Lifestyle Survey, Belgium consumers had avoided unnecessary purchases and had shown an
environmentally conscious mindset. Also giving the increase in prices the Belgium consumer has shown preference
for discount stores and second-hand stores such as Oxfam.
Subculture: Origin | Statbel (fgov.be)
The Belgium population is quite diverse being 65,5% Belgians with a Belgian background and the remaining 35,5% is
divided in seventeen nationality groups of origin. About 47,1% of the Belgian with a foreign background and nonBelgians come from an EU27 country, the other half, 52,9% come from North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, West Asia
and EU candidate country. It is also important to refer that a major part of the population is in the Flemish part of
the country where Oxfam-Wereld Winkels in located, while in the Walloon region is the base of the “Magasins du
Monde” and on the Brussels-capital region Oxfam based its Solidarity entity.
NOTE: Chart: Ukraine Becomes Official EU Membership Candidate | Statista + EU-27 | Access2Markets (europa.eu)
EU27 - Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus,
Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland,
Sweden
EU candidate country - Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, and the newly added Ukraine and Moldova
Social stratification: Median wealth in Belgium is the highest in the world | VRT NWS: news + This Is the Richest
Country on Earth (msn.com) + Employment and unemployment | Statbel (fgov.be)
71,4% of the active population is employed, the unemployment rate amounts to 5,5%. The employment rate for
people with low level of education is about 45% and with high level of education is 67,6%.
Belgium households are relatively wealthy, the current median wealth stands at 228,594 euro, considered this year
one of the 20 richest countries in the world.
Social Factors: Half of Belgians bought second-hand in 2021 (brusselstimes.com) + Rise Of The Resale Business In
The Retail World (forbes.com) + A Heartfelt Thank You | Oxfam GB - YouTube +Chart: Buying Second-Hand Is Gaining
Popularity | Statista + Belgium: Consumer Profile | Market Research Report | Euromonitor + The Transformation of
Second-Hand Clothes Shopping as Popular Sustainable Lifestyle in Social Media Era (proquest.com)
The younger generations do care a lot about sustainability, making them conscious consumers. Also, vintage fashion
has become trendy in the past few years. Social media has a great influence on this, the internet personalities present
openly the qualities of the used product making the Millennials and Gen Z to be influenced by this and now it is
“trendy”.
The people that get involved with Oxfam are looking for a way to make themselves heard and to help others. They
are attracted by campaigns related to environmental and social issues and want to create a generation of
environmentally
conscious
individuals.
Their
references
are
activists
on
these
matters.
Buying in secondhand shops has become more popular in the past few years among the younger generations. In
Belgium is not different, but nowadays the Baby Bommers are the significant consumer shaping the market and they
value a more traditional shopping experience as a result don’t making so much use of the secondhand shops as
Oxfam.
Personal: Level of education | Statbel (fgov.be) + Age and Life Cycle - Meaning & Definition | Marketing Overview |
MBA Skool + Understanding the expansion of circular markets: Building relational legitimacy to overcome the stigma
of second-hand clothing - ScienceDirect +
Age and Lifestyle: Although in Belgium the Baby Boomers shape the market, the Oxfam costumer is characterized
by the younger generations between 16 and 30 years old, young people keen of fashion and new trends, recreationoriented people with few financial burdens.
Occupation and Economic Circumstances: A significant part of this group is still studying or are young professionals.
They don’t have yet a stable income and are still gaining some financial independence, and because of that they can
be more price-sensitive looking for discounts and better deals, as so secondhand shops such as Oxfam are quite
attractive to them.
Personality and Self-Concept: According to Stanford’s Jennifer Aaker consumers choose brands whose personalities
match their own. Oxfam is a pro-environmental, conscient, humanitarian, solidary, inclusive brand, as so its
consumers share these values and personality traits in theory.
Lifestyle and Values: The Oxfam consumer is a money constrained consumer, which values more lower-cost
products. They are thrifty consumers that values sustainability, fashion style, pricing and sanitation.
PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS
Motivation: The main motivations for the consumers of Oxfam are the low prices, support both sustainability and
conscientious consumption.
Target Audience: The young generations, Generation Z and Millennials. Pro-activism and sustainable conscient
customers.
Useful sites: Oxfam Belgium encourages consumers to opt for second-hand in September (msn.com)