Survey Spotlights "Global Affluencers” – First to try. First to buy. 
The Powerful Global Target Group Driving Purchases and Early Adoption Across Category

The Global Affluencer is a global affluent consumer who has more disposable income, travels more and spends more on goods and services than other people. He or she is also the first to try new products and then tell their networks about them, according to the Ipsos 2018 Global Affluent Study, its first global affluent data set ever released.

The study polls more than 82,000 high-income consumers in 47 countries. "Many of our global media and brand clients had been asking us for a global tool to help them quantify global reach and understand similarities and differences between audience demographics, attitudes and behaviors across key regions” said Andrew Green, Global Head of Audience Solutions at Ipsos.

Some key findings from the study include:

Affluent lead the world in early adoption

• 35% of those surveyed in the latest Ipsos Global Affluent Study are always among the first to try technologically innovative products, this is highest in the Middle East with 70% wanting to purchase the very latest tech product. 
• Purchase intention does not always reflect current ownership. The USA rules the world when it comes to ownership of wearable tech: 65% of the American Affluent now  personally own either a smartwatch or smart glasses, followed by 49% in the Middle East.

Always on the move

• Globally the Affluent are responsible for taking more than 330 million return international air flights a year.
• The most frequent international travellers are from the Middle East, with 30% taking five or more international return air trips every year.
• Globally over a fifth of Affluent stay for more than 21 nights a year in hotels. However, the Europeans are most likely to be filling hotel rooms, with 43% spending 21+ nights in a hotel.
• Over 60% of global Affluent households have two or more cars (81% of US households).

With a high income comes frequent investing

• Globally, 55% invest personally in stocks and shares. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this is highest in the USA with 72%, but culturally less popular than other forms of investment in regions such as the Middle East. Insurance and Pensions as a form of investment is most popular in Asia with 68%.

Heavy international media consumers

• Nearly 80% of the global Affluent population watch one of 43 international television networks in an average month, while over a quarter read at least one of 37 internationally distributed newspapers or magazines. Just under half access the websites of any of these media brands in an average week.

About the Study
The Ipsos Affluent Study, conducted across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, and the US, provides a global lens into the characteristics of key affluent categories, including finance, automotive, travel and more for global media brands, agencies and marketers. The offering provides insights into demographics, a number of psychographic statements, product usage, lifestyle/leisure, and media usage.