Guides: BMKT 161: Demographic Research

Consumer/Demographic Research

"Demographics: Description of a population according to characteristics such as age, gender, ethnicity, income, and occupation." - Kerin, R., Edwards, G., Tibbo, G. (2005). Marketing: The core. McGraw-Hill Ryerson; Toronto. (p. 54).

ASK:

What do I want to know about the consumer?
Where does the consumer live?
What is the demographic make-up of the area in which the consumer and/or business resides?
Who is attracted to the business/product/service I am researching?

Consumer Demographics: Location

What is the location of your market?

The geography of the market is based on the way in which Statistics Canada collects its statistics.
The geographic areas include (terms taken from the 2016 Census Dictionary):

Census Division (CD)
Regional district
Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) & Census Agglomeration (CA)
One or more adjacent municipalities around a major urban core
Census Subdivision (CSD)
Municipality
Census Tract (CT)
Areas in urban cores
Dissemination Area (DA)
Small neighbourhood dissemination blocks

Consumer Demographics

Census Profiles: 2016 Census
Population for various levels of geography, including provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas, communities and census tracts. The profile includes characteristics such as population, age, sex, dwellings, families, marital status and language.
Statistics Canada: Census Geography
The geography component of the Canadian census. Includes
1. Dissemination Area Reference Maps, by Census Tracts, for Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations
2. Dissemination Area Reference Maps, by Census Subdivisions, for areas outside Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations
3. Thematic maps
BC Stats: People, Population & Community
Portal to BC population reports and statistics.

Consumer Expenditure & Income

National Household Survey (2011)
"Complementing the data collected by the census, the National Household Survey (NHS) is designed to provide information about people in Canada by their demographic, social and economic characteristics."
Statistics Canada: Income, Pensions, Spending and Wealth
Portal on income, spending, and wealth information and publications and statistics.
BC Stats: Employment & Labour
Find statistics that reflect the labour market characteristics of the population of B.C., including monthly highlights, annual averages and forecasts.
Statistics Canada: Income in Canada
Annual analytical report.

Vividata (Dapresy)
Vividata allows users to customize their reports by demographics, attitudes, media consumption and profiling, retail outlets and product usage. The username and password are posted on your library account page (at the bottom).

By accessing and using Vividata you acknowledge and agree that you must:
- Not share any of its data or other contents publicly or with any other organizations or any individuals not affiliated with CapU.
- Must cite Vividata data and other contents appropriately, clearly acknowledging Vividata as the source, and
- Only use Vividata data for educational purposes.
- Not use CapU’s Vividata access for a paid or unpaid internship.
- Request explicit permission to use Vividata data for any research that is intended for publication. To acquire permission, please contact Vividata directly here (info@vividata.ca).

Consumer Expenditure: Survey of Household Spending

Description

"The main purpose of the survey is to obtain detailed information about household spending during the reference year (previous calendar year). Information is also collected about dwelling characteristics as well as household equipment." - Statistics Canada

2017 Survey of Household Spending publications

Current Survey of Household Spending data

Infographic: Results from the Survey of Household Spending 2017