AMERICAN LIFESTYLES

1 September 2000 Volume 1 Number 35

AMERICAN LIFESTYLES
By Veronica Soriano

Lifestyle centers are the latest breed of shopping centers. While there is no definitive
statement to describe such centers, the majority in the industry will concur that with lifestyle
centers “you’ll know one when you see one.” Lifestyle centers are positioned to provide a good
mix of entertainment, specialty retailing and dining, with overall emphasis given on
“convenience.” Their tenant mix includes national, regional and local merchants. Retailers
closely associated with these centers include The Sharper Image, Natural Wonders,
Brookstone, Williams-Sonoma, Ann Taylor, Talbots, Restoration Hardware, Crate & Barrel and
Barnes & Noble. For developers and retailers, the logic behind lifestyle centers is simple: it is
to provide shoppers with goods and services that will support and enhance their lifestyles.

But what really is the American lifestyle?

The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) looked to the results yielded by The
Lifestyle Market Analyst.1 The 2000 survey, which was conducted from November 1998 to
November 1999, was based on a sample of 17.1 million households in the U.S. Households
were presented with over 70 lifestyle activities and were asked about their participation in each.
These activities were grouped into seven categories—Home Life, Good Life, Investing & Money,
Great Outdoors, Sports, Fitness & Health, Hobbies & Interests and High-Tech Activities. Figure
1 below shows the top ten lifestyle activities in the U.S., while Table 1 presents the top five
activities of U.S. households under each lifestyle group, some demographics and the top three
U.S. geographic markets for each lifestyle.

Figure 1.
Top Ten Lifestyle Activities in the U.S.
Subscribe to Cable TV
66.6%
Shop by Catalog/Mail
57.0%
Listen to Records/Tapes/CDs
51.7%
Use a Personal Computer
50.5%
Own a Cellular Phone
48.4%
Travel in USA
42.5%
Physical Fitness/Exercise
41.9%
Avid Book Reading
39.8%
Flower Gardening
39.6%
Watching Sports on TV
39.2%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Source: The Lifestyle Market Analyst 2000


As seen in Figure 1, American lifestyles remain centered on home life activities (four—cable
TV, catalog/mail shopping, book reading and flower gardening—out of ten activities). Personal
computers and other electronic gadgets such as tape/CD players and cellular phones have also
made their way into American daily life. Fitness & Health is a lifestyle for four in ten Americans.
The mobility (and perhaps to some degree, wanderlust) of Americans was also captured, with
travel in the U.S. making it to the top ten list.

1 The Lifestyle Market Analyst is a joint venture of SRDS and Polk. Published annually, it is a sourcebook of
demographic, geographic and lifestyle information.

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The longer roster included other lifestyles (also see Table 1). There was room for possible
Survivor contenders (fishing, hiking and wildlife), health buffs (dieting and biking), the Martha
Stewarts of the world (home workshop and crafts) and Wall Street enthusiasts (stocks and bond
investment).



Table 1.
Household
Lifestyle Group
Lifestyle Activity
Participation
Home Life
Subscribe to Cable TV
66.6%

Shop by Catalog/Mail
57.0%

Avid Book Reading
39.8%

Flower Gardening
39.6%

Own a Dog
36.8%
Good Life
Travel in USA
42.5%

Travel for Pleasure/Vacation
37.9%

Frequent Flyer
23.8%

Travel for Business
22.0%

Gourmet Cooking/Fine Foods
20.5%
Investment & Money
Stock/Bond Investments
25.8%

Entering Sweepstakes
18.9%

Casino Gambling
16.8%

Moneymaking Opportunities
13.1%

Real Estate Investments
8.2%
Great Outdoors
Fishing Frequently
30.6%

Camping/Hiking
28.4%

Wildlife/Environmental
18.6%

Hunting/Shooting
18.2%

Boating/Sailing
12.3%
Sports, Fitness & Health
Physical Fitness/Exercise
41.9%

Watching Sports on TV
39.2%

Walking for Health
36.9%

Dieting/Weight Control
27.2%

Bicycling Frequently
24.2%
Hobbies & Interests
Home Workshop
29.5%

Crafts
29.4%

Collectibles/Collections
24.3%

Buy Pre-recorded Videos
23.2%

Self-Improvement
22.1%
High-Tech Activities
Listen to Records/Tapes/CDs
51.7%

Use a Personal Computer
50.5%

Own a Cellular Phone
48.4%

Own a Camcorder
31.6%

VCR Recording
20.8%




In summary, the lifestyles of Americans include a broad range of interests and activities, with
most focused on things that could be done at home or that involve the home. As mentioned
earlier, developers and retailers have begun to capitalize on these lifestyle activities. For
example, Restoration Hardware is very popular among the growing “do-it-yourselfers”;
Brookstone and The Sharper Image both offer merchandise to satisfy the “tech-y” need in
almost every consumer; and Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel appeal greatly to homebodies.
With so many lifestyle activities, there certainly remains much potential for other retailers to tap
into. Meanwhile, developers have brought together some of these branded lifestyle retailers
under one roof and called the shopping center with no-better a name than lifestyle center.

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