The Old Demographic Rules Aren't Enough Anymore

With the announcement of the 300 millionth baby being born back in October, a lot of interesting statistics from the U. S. Census either went unreported or were buried on page 12 of the news. Here are some of [what I think] the more interesting facts released this year:

* The South recorded both the largest numerical population increase [1.5 million] and the fastest rate of growth [1.4 percent];
* For the first time ever, there was a higher percentage of unmarried couples than married leading our nation's 111.1 million households [50.3 vs. 49.7];
* In 2005, the nation's minority population totaled 98 million, or 33 percent, of the country's total population;
* Real median household income in the United States rose by 1.1 percent between 2004 and 2005, reaching $46,326; and
* There are over 150 million women online and they are now outpacing men in terms of internet, email and computer usage.

Those numbers tell me a lot of things about what we really are in the U.S., what we need to recognize as marketers, and how the "average American" is changing. But what I'm really getting to in this post can be encompassed in five simple words:

Wallet share not market share.
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