Category Killers -- Interesting Stat

Here's an interesting stat from the book:

According to a 2004 survey by the American Affluence Research Center, the top eight retailers favored by the wealthiest (average income of $359,000) 10 percent of the U.S. population were (in order): Target, Home Depot, Costco, Nordstrom, Gap, Bed Bath & Beyond and Best Buy.

This is quite a shift in attitude towards discount shopping. There was a time when people in the top 10% wouldn't shop at a discount store, but today that's clearly not the case. It's an interesting point.

Some sixty million households in the United States will shop at a dollar store this year and 28% of American consumers surveyed said that they shop at these variety stores at least once a month, according to A.C. Neilsen.

This creates both a challenge and an opportunity for retailers. Look at the job Target has done in creating a different experience for discount shopping? Why, because there's a much broader audience shopping there today and it has to appeal to all of them.