Sixty years ago in the U.S, just 22% adults were living single, but in the current times, more than 50% adults are single. People who are living alone in The U.S make up to 28% of households; hence, it is a more common trend compared to the other forms of domestic units.
The pattern of living single in the United States is a demographic shift that will end up affecting the market economy of the country. People remain unmarried due to their personal issues such as avoiding family struggles like divorce complications, and this hurts the economy. By people staying SOLO, it means they do not purchase family related products such as toys and diapers for the kids and expensive things like family vehicles. The reduction in the customer buying behavior in the U.S causes fewer sales when it comes to family products that make the bigger percentage of commodities sold in the market (Montgomery, 2008).
For any company willing to strive in the U.S market, there is the need to alter the products and services it sells so that they can fit in the current customer needs. Most consumers who make up the 50% living SOLO do not buy family products such as big vehicles and need to purchase the vehicles that fit their living standards and behaviors. For the case of food companies that were producing family feeds, they need to shift their production to feeds that can feed single persons since most of them are living SOLO and do not need large food packs.
Marketing strategy in the U.S is likely to change, and companies will shift from doing advertisements that suit family setups and come up with adverts that will suit single peoples. Companies need to turn into doing products and services that suit singles and avoid selling family packages to have the perfect marketing strategies.
References
Montgomery, A. (2008). US Families 2025: In search of future families. Futures, 40(4), 377-387.
