The term "mass market" refers to a market for goods produced on a large scale for a significant number of end consumers. The mass market differs from the niche market in that the former focuses on consumers with a wide variety of backgrounds with no identifiable preferences and expectations in a large market segment.[1][2] Traditionally, businesses reach out to the mass market with advertising messages through a variety of media including radio, TV, newspapers and the Web.[3]
Scholars have noted that defining the precise nature of the mass market is problematic.[4] This difficulty arises, at least in part, from scholarly attention being given to the process of mass marketing rather than the mass market, per se. In addition, the concept of a mass market means different things in different contexts and has evolved over time, adding yet another layer of complexity.[5] The ‘'Cambridge Business English Dictionary defines a mass market as:[6]
a market of as many people as possible, not just people with a lot of money or particular needs or interests [or] a product that is intended to be sold to as many people as possible, not just to people with a lot of money or particular interests.
A mass market, also known as undifferentiated market, is a large group of current and/or prospective customers, where individual members share similar needs. The size of a mass market depends on the product category. Mass marketers typically aim at between 50 and 100 percent of the total market potential.[7] For example, the laundry detergent, Tide, reportedly had a 65% in-store market share (in the US) by developing a “good for everybody” product and targeting a broad middle-class market.[8] By the 1980s, Coca-Cola commanded almost 70% share of the US market[9] Mass market products and brands offer lower acceptable quality, are mass-produced, widely distributed and typically rely on mass media to create high levels of market awareness and ultimately market penetration. A premium brand, in contrast, combines elements of luxury and mass market, appealing to a broad market with higher quality products, often designed by high profile designers, with unique or prestige points of differentiation and offered at reasonable prices. Premium brands offer an alternative to luxury goods.[10]
History
“You Press The Button, We Do the Rest”, Kodak's campaign slogan
The concept of a ‘mass market’ is relatively modern. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, a market referred to a physical place (i.e., a marketplace). However, by the late 18th century, people could participate in the market without physically attending a marketplace. By the 20th century, the concept could be used to describe a process (mass production/mass marketing), a group of consumers as well as a physical place.[11] The process, mass marketing, involves the pursuit of an entire market or a large proportion of the market with a single product and a single marketing program. In mass marketing, there is no market differentiation and no product differentiation. .[12][13]
The term, 'mass market’, emerged in the 19th century and had its origins in social, political and economic transformations occurring across the developed world throughout the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries.[14] Population growth combined with rising wages, higher standards of living, concentrated populations, increasing urbanisation, increased social mobility and the rise of a middle-class fuelled a rise in demand for goods and services. To meet this demand, industry was restructured: manufacturers needed new production, distribution and merchandising systems to satisfy the growing demand for affordable goods and services.[15] As certain historians have noted, the supply-side 'industrial revolution’ was accompanied by a demand-side 'consumer revolution’.[16][17][18]
Model-T Ford in 1919
By the 17th century, raw materials, manufactured goods and foodstuffs were being transported around the globe. However, for mass market accessibility, effective domestic transportation and communication systems, such as the railways and the telegraph, were essential preconditions.[7] Scholars point to the second half of the 19th century as a forming a 'revolution in distribution’ with innovations in transportation, storage and packaging enabling rapid, efficient movement of goods across vast distances.[19] Mass production techniques, facilitated by technological developments, enabled the production of low-cost, standardised products designed to appeal to a broad cross-section of the market.[20] By the 20th century, new distribution systems gradually supplanted the peddlers, hawkers and small, independent retailers that had characterised pre-industrial supply channels.[21] As the century progressed, improvements in the supply chain gave rise to a plethora of innovative mass market retailers – from department stores through to franchises and chain stores.[22] Notable early examples of mass marketers include:
Kodak: George Eastman, who founded Kodak in 1888, revolutionised photography when he developed inexpensive, portable cameras and effectively created a mass market for amateur photographers[7][23] To highlight the camera's ease of use, the campaign slogan promised, ““You press the button, we do the rest” (1888).[24]
Ford Motor Company: Henry Ford perfected the moving assembly line in order to produce a high-quality automobile (the model T) priced within the reach of a market of unprecedented size.[25][26]
Coca-Cola bottle, 1915
Coca-Cola: When Asa Candler purchased the Coca-Cola recipe in 1891, his strategy was to mass market the beverage across the US, by producing a single 6.5-ounce bottle in only one flavour. The company made a concerted effort to appeal to every segment of society, using a national distribution system via food retailers (as opposed to the drugstores used during the formative years).[27] At its peak, in the late 1980s, Coca-Cola commanded almost 70 percent market share[9]
The primary aim of mass marketing is to provide standardised products to the largest number of customers at minimum acceptable quality points and at lowest possible prices. To achieve this, companies design no-frills products, employ long production runs and rely on low margins and volume sales in order to maintain low unit costs.[28]
In the mass market, players must compete with other high-volume producers. As a consequence, the product with the lowest price, given comparable acceptable quality, will enjoy a market advantage.[29] This tends to lead to a focus on prices which means that companies must relentlessly pursuit of cost savings across every aspect of business operations – simplified product design, streamlined supply chains and minimum tolerable service quality.[30][31]
In developed nations, marketers regularly create a mass market for goods and services.[32] For example, a sophisticated new product such as an MP3 player, might firstly target early adopters in upper income groups and subsequently simplify the offer and reduce prices in order to gain acceptance by a larger proportion of the potential market.[33]
Mass marketing is primarily used in commodity markets. Pictured salt workers of Marakkanam, India.
In developed economies, mass marketing is becoming less common as an approach. However, it remains a vital part of marketing in developed economies well into the 21st century.[34][25] Mass marketing is primarily used in commodity markets (e.g., sugar, salt, fruit and vegetables, etc.); very small markets (where segmentation would result in segments too small to be profitable); for products and brands satisfying universal needs (e.g., pens, pencils, newspapers) and in less competitive markets.[12]
As markets in the US and Europe have become increasingly fragmented, consumers are exhibiting a greater desire for choice, customisation and product differentiation. This has led to some companies, shifting away from serving a single mass market towards serving a number of smaller markets or segments. However, the size of these segments remains relatively large. Multinationals such as Campbell's and Coca-Cola enjoy enormous reach across global markets.[35] Whereas, Coke, for example, was once only available in a single flavour and bottle size, it is now offered in multitude of different flavours, different sized bottles and with varying sugar- no-sugar options.[36][37]
For companies desirous of entering emerging markets, a key business decision is which of the two income segments to target – a small but wealthy elite (niche market) or a large but relatively poor mass market.[41][42] The resources and capabilities required to compete in emerging economies are quite different to those used in developed markets.[43] In particular, companies need extensive local knowledge, including a rich understanding of local distribution networks and a deep understanding of consumer purchasing habits.[44]
In emerging economies, consumers have a preference for unbranded goods and local markets.
Consumer behaviour in emerging mass markets is quite unlike that observed elsewhere.[45] Mass market needs revolve around basic necessities and functional products.[40] Although regional differences are evident, some commonalities have been noted: consumers are extremely price-conscious; prefer unbranded goods, buy in smaller quantities, only buy sufficient amounts as required for immediate use and often exhibit a preference for local retail outlets where they can buy a single item, such as a bar of soap, from broken packs.[46][47][48]
Colgate-Palmolive is one of a number of companies that have successfully tapped into mass markets in emerging economies.
Multinationals such as Unilever and Colgate-Palmolive have successfully tapped into emerging mass markets, while others have struggled. Kellogg's foray into India failed to establish market acceptance for cereal as an alternative breakfast food.[49] Unilever's laundry detergent, Ala, achieved market success in southern Brazil, but was unable to gain a foothold in the northeast, where women continue to wash laundry in streams and have a preference for bar soap.[41][50] In Paraguay, the telecommunications operator, Tigo, was initially reluctant to reduce the minimum recharge rate for phone cards. However, its sales volume tripled when it allowed users to recharge for just a few centavos. The company learned that customers were using the cards as a form of savings and also made calls at night when rates were lower, thereby boosting off peak usage volumes.[41]
Mass market retailers
Mass market retailer
A mass-market retailer is an organization that reasonably sells enormous amounts of products that appeal to a wide assortment of buyers. Mass-market retailers are not really known for selling sturdy, top notch stock or for having uncommon client assistance, yet they do meet customers' needs a lot at sensible costs. Some examples of mass retailers are big-box stores such as Target, Sam's Club, and Best Buy, as well as brands like Levi Strauss and Gap, and e-retailers like Amazon.[51]
Mass market retailers vs luxury retailers
Luxury retailer
In terms of mass market vs luxury retailers, luxury retailers sell their products to specific consumers. Their target market is for wealthy consumers who purchase upscale products frequently, products that tend to be unobtainable for the regular consumer. Some examples of luxury retailers include Barney's, Tiffany's, Saks & Fifth etc.
Mass market advantages
Mass Marketing is the degree and cost-proficiency of advertising on a bigger scale compared to smaller business marketing systems.
Increases brand awareness
Power to control the market (scare future competitors away)
Mass market disadvantages
Will leave smaller companies more vulnerable
Always changing consumer market
Decline
“Technology has enabled consumers to skip over these mass-market models. Amazon and Google allow them to quickly and easily search out specific products that speak to them.”[52] People are not associating or committing to a certain brand, rather, whatever is more convenient for them when looking at quality, price, and availability.
When looking at mass market, we can include television as a contributor. TV shows are made to appeal to whoever wants to tune in and to however many people that attention brings. There has been a significant fall off in the number of viewers that the biggest TV shows are pulling in as opposed to 25 or so years prior. This decrease is largely attributed to the presence of social media and self-published apps and streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, HBO, etc. "Oprah, at her height, had 48 million viewers per week. Now, the biggest daytime TV stars, like Ellen DeGeneres or Dr. Phil, draw less than one-tenth of that per week."[52] Daytime television will never capture that big of an audience ever again based on the number of different options people have at their disposal today. This is one of the many instances where mass market is becoming obsolete.
Marketing is the act of satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of business management and commerce.
Shopping is an activity in which a customer browses the available goods or services presented by one or more retailers with the potential intent to purchase a suitable selection of them. A typology of shopper types has been developed by scholars which identifies one group of shoppers as recreational shoppers, that is, those who enjoy shopping and view it as a leisure activity.
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and then sells in smaller quantities to consumers for a profit. Retailers are the final link in the supply chain from producers to consumers.
Distribution is the process of making a product or service available for the consumer or business user who needs it, and a distributor is a business involved in the distribution stage of the value chain. Distribution can be done directly by the producer or service provider or by using indirect channels with distributors or intermediaries. Distribution is one of the four elements of the marketing mix: the other three elements being product, pricing, and promotion.
Pricing is the process whereby a business sets the price at which it will sell its products and services, and may be part of the business's marketing plan. In setting prices, the business will take into account the price at which it could acquire the goods, the manufacturing cost, the marketplace, competition, market condition, brand, and quality of product.
In marketing, market segmentation or customer segmentation is the process of dividing a consumer or business market into meaningful sub-groups of current or potential customers known as segments. Its purpose is to identify profitable and growing segments that a company can target with distinct marketing strategies.
In marketing, brand management begins with an analysis on how a brand is currently perceived in the market, proceeds to planning how the brand should be perceived if it is to achieve its objectives and continues with ensuring that the brand is perceived as planned and secures its objectives. Developing a good relationship with target markets is essential for brand management. Tangible elements of brand management include the product itself; its look, price, and packaging, etc. The intangible elements are the experiences that the target markets share with the brand, and also the relationships they have with the brand. A brand manager would oversee all aspects of the consumer's brand association as well as relationships with members of the supply chain.
Mass marketing is a marketing strategy in which a firm decides to ignore market segment differences and appeal the whole market with one offer or one strategy, which supports the idea of broadcasting a message that will reach the largest number of people possible. Traditionally, mass marketing has focused on radio, television and newspapers as the media used to reach this broad audience. By reaching the largest audience possible, exposure to the product is maximized, and in theory this would directly correlate with a larger number of sales or buys into the product.
Consumer behaviour is the study of individuals, groups, or organisations and all the activities associated with the purchase, use and disposal of goods and services. Consumer behaviour consists of how the consumer's emotions, attitudes, and preferences affect buying behaviour. Consumer behaviour emerged in the 1940–1950s as a distinct sub-discipline of marketing, but has become an interdisciplinary social science that blends elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology, anthropology, ethnography, ethnology, marketing, and economics.
In economics, a luxury good is a good for which demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a more significant proportion of overall spending. Luxury goods are in contrast to necessity goods, where demand increases proportionally less than income. Luxury goods is often used synonymously with superior goods.
The target audience is the intended audience or readership of a publication, advertisement, or other message catered specifically to the previously intended audience. In marketing and advertising, the target audience is a particular group of consumer within the predetermined target market, identified as the targets or recipients for a particular advertisement or message.
A product line extension is the use of an established product brand name for a new item in the same product category.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to marketing:
Micromarketing was first referred to in the UK marketing press in November 1988 in respect of the application of geodemographics to consumer marketing. The subject of micromarketing was developed further in an article in February 1990, which emphasised understanding markets at the local level, and also the personalisation of messages to individual consumers in the context direct marketing. Micromarketing has come to refer to marketing strategies which are variously customised to either local markets, to different market segments, or to the individual customer.
The study of the history of marketing, as a discipline, is meaningful because it helps to define the baselines upon which change can be recognised and understand how the discipline evolves in response to those changes. The practice of marketing has been known for millennia, but the term "marketing" used to describe commercial activities assisting the buying and selling of products or services came into popular use in the late nineteenth century. The study of the history of marketing as an academic field emerged in the early twentieth century.
A target market, also known as serviceable obtainable market (SOM), is a group of customers within a business's serviceable available market at which a business aims its marketing efforts and resources. A target market is a subset of the total market for a product or service.
'Shopper marketing' is "a discipline that focuses on the customer experience and the customer journey."It focuses on the consumer's path to purchasing a product, from first being aware of the product, to consideration and through to the purchase of it. It separates itself from retail marketing which focuses on engaging the customer in-store only.
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and store value as brand equity for the object identified, to the benefit of the brand's customers, its owners and shareholders. Brand names are sometimes distinguished from generic or store brands.
An icon brand is a symbol-intensive brand that carry powerful universal values making it instantly recognisable thanks to ownable and distinctive codes. Becoming an icon is the peak of the marketing. Icon brands include various luxury brands and fashion brands, though any brand—regardless of its origins and sector—can become an icon brand if marketed competently.
The retail format influences the consumer's store choice and addresses the consumer's expectations. At its most basic level, a retail format is a simple marketplace, that is; a location where goods and services are exchanged. In some parts of the world, the retail sector is still dominated by small family-run stores, but large retail chains are increasingly dominating the sector, because they can exert considerable buying power and pass on the savings in the form of lower prices. Many of these large retail chains also produce their own private labels which compete alongside manufacturer brands. Considerable consolidation of retail stores has changed the retail landscape, transferring power away from wholesalers and into the hands of the large retail chains.
↑ Geoffrey Tweedale, “A Machine on Evert Desk: The Development of the Mass Market in Computers”, in: R.S. Tedlow and G. G. Jones (eds), The Rise and Fall of Mass Marketing, Routledge, London, 2014, p. 146
↑ Melvyn Dubofsky (ed.), The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Business, Labor and Economic History, Oxford University Press, 2013, pp 494-498
↑ Cambridge Business English Dictionary, Cambridge University Press, 2011, p. 329
1 2 3 ”Mass Marketing” in: Paul S. Boyer (ed.), The Oxford Companion to United States History, Oxford University Press, 2001, p. 466; also see: Melvyn Dubofsky (ed.), The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Business, Labor and Economic History, Oxford University Press, 2013, pp 494-498
1 2 Amanda Ciafone, Counter-Cola: A Multinational History of the Global Corporation, University of California Press, 2015, p. 397
↑ P.A. Permatasari and N. Kalbaszka,” Digital Technologies for Communicating Fashion Heritage,” in: De Ascaniis, Silvia, Cantoni, Lorenzo (eds), Handbook on Heritage, Sustainable Tourism and Digital Media, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2022, pp 60-61
↑ Susan Stasser, Satisfaction Guaranteed: The Making of the American Mass Market, Pantheon Books, 1989, p. 125
1 2 Geoffrey Paul Lantos, Consumer Behavior in Action: Real-life Applications for Marketing Managers, Routledge, Oxon, 2011, pp 39-40
↑ Hamish Fraser, The Coming of the Mass Market, 1850–1914, Macmillan International Higher Education, 1982, p. x
↑ Hamish Fraser, The Coming of the Mass Market, 1850–1914, Macmillan International Higher Education, 1982, p. 3
↑ Grant McCracken, “Textile History and the Consumer Epidemic: An Anthropological Approach to Popular Consumption”, Material History Bulletin, vol. 31, Spring 1990, p. 60
↑ Neil McKendrick, John Brewer and J.H. Plumb, The Birth of a Consumer Society: The Commercialization of Eighteenth-Century England, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1982
↑ Bruno Blondé and Ilja Van Damme, “From consumer revolution to mass market”, in: J Stobart and V. Howard (eds), The Routledge Companion to the History of Retailing, 1st edition, Routledge, Oxon, 2018, pp 31-49
↑ David W. Gutzke, John Pearce and the Rise of the Mass Food Market in London, 1870-1930, Palgrave-Macmillan, 2019, p. 3
↑ Richard Tedlow, New and Improved: The Story of Mass Marketing in America, Heinemann, 1990, UK, pp 4-12
↑ Art Caden, “Retail Innovations in American Economic History: The Rise of Mass-Market Merchandisers”, in: Routledge Handbook of Major Events in Economic History, Routledge, 2013, pp 402-404
↑ Richard Longstretch, “Retail Development and Urban Form in the United States in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century”, in: J. Stobart and V. Howard (eds), The Routledge Companion to the History of Retailing, Chapter 4, 2018
↑ Bernard Weisberger, “George Eastman and the Creation of a Mass Market”, American Heritage, vol 23, no. 6, 1972
↑ Reese V. Jenkins, “Technology and the Market: George Eastman and the Origins of Mass Amateur Photography, Technology and Culture, vol 16., no. 1, 1975, pp 1-19, [Online: https://doi.org/10.2307/3102363]
1 2 Melvyn Dubofsky (ed.), The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Business, Labor and Economic History, Oxford University Press, 2013, p. 495
↑ D. Dufour, G. M. O'Brien and Rupert Best (eds), Cassava Flour and Starch: Progress in Research and Development, CIAT, 1996, p. 114
↑ Charles W. L. Hill, Gareth R. Jones, Melissa A. Schilling, Strategic Management: Theory: An Integrated Approach, 2014, 11th ed., Cengage, Stamford, CT, p. 185
↑ Amitava Chattopadhyay, Rajeev Batra, Aysegul Ozsomer, The New Emerging Market Multinationals: Four Strategies for Disrupting Markets and Building Brands, Mc-Graw-Hill, 2012, p. 19
↑ Richard Tedlow, New and Improved: The Story of Mass Marketing in America, Heinemann, 1990, UK, p. 346
↑ Peter Stimpson and Alex Smith, Business Management for the IB Diploma Coursebook, 2nd ed., Cambridge University Press, 2015, p. 361
↑ Tevfik Dalgic and Martin Leeuw, “Niche Marketing Revisited: Theoretical and Practical Issues” in: M. Levy and D. Grewal (eds), “ in Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, 1993, pp 139-141
↑ Tevfik Dalgic and Martin Leeuw, “Niche Marketing Revisited: Theoretical and Practical Issues” in: M. Levy and D. Grewal (eds), “ in Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, 1993, pp 139-141
↑ Richard Tedlow, New and Improved: The Story of Mass Marketing in America, Heinemann, 1990, UK, p. xx viii and p. 54
↑ Niraj Dawar and J. Ramachandran, “Defending Turf: Marketing Strategies for Emerging Market Companies” in: R. Batra (ed.), Marketing Issues in Transitional Economies, Springer, 2012, p. 229
↑ Snezana Popovic-Avric, Renata Pindzo and Marina Djenic, “The Challenges of Business Strategies in Emerging Markets” in: M.L. Jakzic and S.B. Rakosevic (eds), Symorg Proceedings, 2012, pp 1015-1021
1 2 Raquel Cataño and David Flores, “Consumer Behaviour in Emerging Markets” in: R. Grosse and K.E. Meyer, The Oxford Handbook of Management in Emerging Markets, Oxford University Press, 2019, p. 230
↑ Raquel Cataño and David Flores, “Consumer Behaviour in Emerging Markets” in: R.Grosse and K.E. Meyer, The Oxford Handbook of Management in Emerging Markets, Oxford University Press, 2019, p. 230
↑ Vipin Gupta, Kamala Gollakota and R. Srinvasan, Business Policy and Strategic Management: Concepts and Applications, 2nd ed., PHI Learning, New Delhi, India, 2007, p. 72
↑ Rajeev Batra, “Marketing Issues and Challenges in Transitional Markets” in: R. Batra (ed.), Marketing Issues in Transitional Economies, Springer, 2012, pp 3-36
↑ S. Ramesh Kumar, Conceptual Issues in Consumer Behaviour The Indian Context, Pearson, Dorling, India, 2008, p. 205
↑ Raquel Cataño and David Flores, “Consumer Behaviour in Emerging Markets” in: R. Grosse and K.E. Meyer, The Oxford Handbook of Management in Emerging Markets, Oxford University Press, 2019, pp 220-230
↑ C.S. Krishna Prasad, “Are Mid-Segment Markets in India Still Elusive to MNCs?” in: A Adhikari, Strategic Management Issues in Emerging Markets, Springer, [e-book], p. 200
↑ Anil K. Gupta, Toshiro Wakayama and U. Srinivasa Rangan, Global Strategies for Emerging Asia, John Wiley, 2012, pp 54-56
↑ S. Ramesh Kumar, Conceptual Issues in Consumer Behaviour The Indian Context, Pearson, Dorling, India, 2008, p. 205 and pp 218-19
↑ Jagdish N. Sheth, Mona Sinha, Reshma Shah Breakout Strategies for Emerging Markets: Business and Marketing Tactics for Achieving Growth, Pearson, N.J., 2016, e-book, n.p.
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