New Mover Report 2011: Epsilon Reveals Significant Opportunity to Target Growing Market of Renters

Majority of New Movers are Renters; Shift Signals Changes in Buying Behavior Among Relocating Consumers

Dallas, Texas - Epsilon Targeting, the leading provider of consumer information for targeted marketing, today released the New Mover Report 2011: A Growing Market of Renters highlighting an increase in renters compared to home buyers. In February 2011 the number of existing and new homes sales hit its lowest point in nearly two decades. However, despite the continuous decline in home sales, Epsilon found that the number of people moving has steadily increased since mid 2009. This growing gap between the number of movers and the number of home buyers demonstrates the likelihood of new movers to be renters. This trend results in new spending behaviors and brings to light an important differentiator to consider when marketing to new movers.

The study suggests the shift from buying to renting is a result of three trends affecting the broader economy:

* A decline in homeownership (As of February 2011 there were 543,000 homes sold, 80% below the peak in 2005, 2010 U.S. Census);
* An increase in property foreclosures. (There were approximately 1.4 million foreclosures in 2010 alone, 2010 U.S. Census);


The propensity of the traditionally defined “new movers” to rent indicates different spending behaviors. Renters, as opposed to buyers and owners, are less likely to invest in their property or purchase big ticket items. Also renters tend to invest in products and services that are easily transferable.

“It’s still important to market to both renters and buyers, as new mover households spend about 52% more than non movers on home décor and furnishings during the first year of their move,” said Don Hinman, Senior Vice President of Data Strategy for Epsilon Targeting. “However, recognizing the differences between these two subsets of new movers can significantly impact marketing results. Armed with this economic data and an understanding of new mover purchase behavior, marketers who can identify consumers as they relocate to new homes or rental properties are better positioned to effectively target new movers when they are in the market for specific products and services associated with their transition.”

Epsilon has been compiling New Mover data for over a decade in efforts to identify and understand macro level trends and the dynamics between these trends and the marketing industry.

The New Mover Report 2011: A Growing Market of Renters is available at www.epsilon.com/pr/newmoverreport2011.