The New Socio-Economic Classification System was formally launched by Lloyd Mathias, Chairman of MRUC (also President, Corporate Monitoring, Tata Teleservices Limited), and J Rajaretnam, President of the MRSI, in the presence of members of MRUC’s board and MRSI’s Managing Committee.
“In 2006, extensive research and inputs from industry experts had thrown up a burning need to revisit the classification system, given that the market environment, as also consumer profiles, preferences and attitudes had undergone a sea-change over the last three decades.” Mathias said.
Hope will be useful for all you marketing geeks..
Psychic Reading | Spiritual Guidance – Astro Ganesh Ji
New socio economic classification 2011 mrsi
1. MUMBAI. MAY 3, 2011
SOCIO-ECONOMIC CLASSIFICATION-2011
The New SEC system
THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
2. What is the
new SEC system? 01
How do we classify
a household
in the new SEC system? 02
What are the
advantages/ drawbacks
of the new SEC system? 03
How was the new SEC system
created? 04
What are the
other systems
that we considered? 05
What is
the performance
of the new SEC system? 06
Conclusion 07
THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
3. 01
What is the new
SEC system?
3 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
4. THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
The new SEC system is used to classify households in India.
It’s based on two variables:
• Education of chief earner
• Number of “consumer durables” ( from a predefined
list)- owned by the family. The list has 11 items,
ranging from ‘electricity connection’ and ‘agricultural
land’- to cars and air conditioners
We have 12 grades in the new SEC system, ranging from A1
to E3
4 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
5. DISTRIBUTION OF HOUSEHOLDS
India ( urban + rural )
New SEC System
18.4
14.7 15.4
11.4
9.7
7.5 7.9
5.3
4.3
3.2
1.8
0.4
A1 A2 A3 B1 B2 C1 C2 D1 D2 E1 E2 E3
*Figures in percentage
This round of analysis has been conducted using data from IRS 2008 (round 20)*.
We have drawn a sub-sample of 39,441
5 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
6. DISTRIBUTION OF HOUSEHOLDS
Urban
New SEC System
12.9 13.2
12.6
11.6
10.2 9.8
8.6
7.6
5.1 4.7
2.6
1.1
A1 A2 A3 B1 B2 C1 C2 D1 D2 E1 E2 E3
Current Urban SEC system
The current urban SEC system has 8 grades, 24
and is based on occupation and education of
20.5
chief earner 18.2
11.9
7.9 8
6.6
2.8
A1 A2 B1 B2 C D E1 E2
6 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
7. DISTRIBUTION OF HOUSEHOLDS
Rural
New SEC System
22.2
20.1
15.6
12.8
10.7
6.2
5.1
2.3 3.2
0.4 1.3
0.04
A1 A2 A3 B1 B2 C1 C2 D1 D2 E1 E2 E3
Current Rural SEC system
43
The current rural SEC system has 4 grades, 40.3
and is based on education of chief earner and
material used in construction of dwelling
12.3
4.3
R1 R2 R3 R4
THE NEW SEC SYSTEM 7
8. 02
How do we classify
a household
in the new SEC system?
8 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
9. Just two questions
THAT NEED TO BE ASKED
SHOW CARD/READ OUT
Q1a Please take a look at this list and tell me which of these items do you have at
home? (It could be owned by you, your family, or provided by the employer or it
could be available in the house you live in; but it should be for the use of just you or
your family)
EXPLAIN, IF NECESSARY:
We have a standard list of items that we use in all kinds of cities and villages. So don’t worry if an item appears
irrelevant for you, or too ordinary- just go ahead and tell me which items you do have. We need this information just
for survey purpose only.
Do you have a…(ITEM) in your home (which is in working condition)?
CIRCLE ITEMS OWNED/HAVE AT HOME. TICK THE ITEM IF OWNED. ADD THE NO. OF TICKS IN THE BOX.
Q1b Does your family own any agricultural land, by agricultural land I mean
land that is currently under cultivation or plantation?
SHOW CARD/READ OUT
Q2 Could you tell me something about the person who makes the biggest
contribution to the running of the household. To what level has he
studied?
RECORD IN GRID. USE GRID TO DETERMINE NEW SEC.
9 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
10. RECORDING
The grid
01
Items owned / have access at home Circle Tick
Electricity Connection 01 √
Ceiling Fan 02 √
LPG Stove 03 √
Two Wheeler 04
√
Colour TV 05
√
1a Refrigerator 06
√
Washing Machine 07
Personal Computer/ Laptop 08
Car/Jeep/Van 09 √
Air Conditioner 10
1b Agricultural Land 11 √
NUMBER OF STANDARD 11 OWNED 8
10 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
11. RECORDING
The grid
Chief Earner: Education (Q2)
02
Literate
Some
but no Graduate/
College Graduate/
No. of formal Post
School- 5 (incl a Post
Illiterate schooling/ SSC/ HSC Graduate:
Durables to 9 years Diploma) Graduate:
School- Profession
(TRANSFER but not General
Upto 4 al
FROM Q1) Grad
years
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
None E3 E2 E2 E2 E2 E1 D2
1 E2 E1 E1 E1 D2 D2 D2
2 E1 E1 D2 D2 D1 D1 D1
3 D2 D2 D1 D1 C2 C2 C2
4 D1 C2 C2 C1 C1 B2 B2
5 C2 C1 C1 B2 B1 B1 B1
6 C1 B2 B2 B1 A3 A3 A3
7 C1 B1 B1 A3 A3 A2 A2
8 B1 A3 A3 A3 A2 A2 A2
9+ B1 A3 A3 A2 A2 A1 A1
11 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
12. What sort of people are these?
New
SEC
System Have Have Owns Owns Colour Use Utensil Have Two Have Have Have Have
Electricity Fan Pressure Cooker TV Cleaner Wheeler Refrigerator Kitchen Sink Dining Table AC
A1
A2
A3
B1
B2
C1
C2
D1
D2
E1
E2
E3
THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
14. Advantages
OF THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
More discrimination as compared with current systems
A single system for urban and and rural India
Less subjectivity- as we no longer use occupation
It’s simple - easy to answer, not very time consuming, easy
to classify
14 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
16. There are no serious problems. But…
We need to be better prepared to handle minor changes
to the system, because “consumer durables” penetration
will change faster than education or occupation
The questioning can appear intrusive to people who are
unaccustomed to market research. It’s not a problem
elsewhere
16 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
17. 04
How did we go about
creating the new system?
THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
18. How we created the new system
Extensive analysis based on data drawn from the IRS,
made available by the MRUC- various rounds, from 2005
to 2008
Have also drawn on data from MarketPulse, IMRB’s
Household panel, supplemented by a special survey
18 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
19. The building blocks that were available to us
‘Demographic’ variables: e.g. occupation of chief earner,
education of chief earner, education of housewife, claimed
monthly household income
Dwelling type and amenities: e.g. construction material, tap,
bathroom, number of rooms
Ownership of consumer durables
19 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
20. How we arrange the blocks
‘A scoring system called LIFE; which takes
into account whether a household owns or
uses a wide-ranging products ranging
from material of wall, roof, mode of
transportation, use of toilet soap, use of
ghee, biscuits, etc.
The LIFE score is used to
decide the order of groups
defined by two or more In all we used 34 items: giving weights in
variables
inverse proportion to usage/ownership
20 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
21. How the LIFE scores are used – an example
Chief Earner: Education
Literate but
Some College Graduate/ Graduate/
We compute the average formal
no
School- 5 to 9 (incl a Post Post
No. of Illiterate schooling/
LIFE* score for each cell years
SSC/ HSC
Diploma) but Graduate: Graduate:
School- Upto
Durables
defined by number of 4 years not Grad General Professional
durables x education
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
None 81 98 111 125 130 134 217
1 120 133 145 160 165 178 115
2 157 166 185 199 222 215 263
3 193 211 225 247 265 278 268
4 232 250 271 298 319 343 338
5 260 286 313 341 370 391 394
6 294 338 344 377 438 425 447
7 307 384 373 415 456 470 483
8 366 429 411 455 497 500 510
9+ 592 487 495 558 575
* Excluding durables
21 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
22. How the LIFE scores are used – an example
Chief Earner: Education
Literate but
Some College Graduate/ Graduate/
no formal
And then group the cells School- 5 to 9 (incl a Post Post
No. of Illiterate schooling/
years
SSC/ HSC
Diploma) but Graduate: Graduate:
Durablesa similar scoreyears Upto
with School-
4
not Grad General Professional
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
None 81 98 111 125 130 134 217
1 120 133 145 160 165 178 115
2 157 166 185 199 222 215 263
3 193 211 225 247 265 278 268
4 232 250 271 298 319 343 338
5 260 286 313 341 370 391 394
6 294 338 344 377 438 425 447
7 307 384 373 415 456 470 483
8 366 429 411 455 497 500 510
9+ 592 487 495 558 575
Each group is * Excluding durables
assigned a grade
SEC Grades A1 A2 A3 B1 B2 C1 C2 D1 D2 E1 E2 E3
22 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
23. The basis of measuring the discrimination
We used the Lorenz curve, and the associated Gini coefficient,
as a basis for measuring discrimination or inequality
We assume that the system that throws up more inequality is more
discriminating.
In other words, the system that shows a bigger difference in
ownership/consumption between the top half and the bottom half is the
better one
23 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
25. We’ve evaluated many options
Point based system using
education of highest educated
individual, press exposure of A system based on
housewife, and ownership of occupation and education of
durables plus other aspects chief earner and the number
of consumer durables
owned
A system based on and
education of chief earner
and the “best type” of
consumer durables owned
25 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
26. What we learnt from analysis and fieldwork
Two kinds of variables are better than one. But the gains
from using three sets of variables is small
Systems that call for multiple grids or adding up points
are time consuming; errors in classifying can occur
A system that requires cards to be shown is not a good
idea- it’s hard to manage this at the ‘doorstep’
Occupation is a weak discriminator
Systems based on consumer durables offer good
discrimination
26 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
27. Our conclusions at the end of earlier rounds
Consumer durables (number owned) combined with education
of chief earner is a satisfactory system
Easy to administer- takes only about 20 seconds more than the current
urban system
Discrimination as good or better than urban SEC
Discrimination much better than rural SEC
The focus then was to optimize this system- adding or dropping
consumer durables, if needed
Many versions of this system have been explored before arriving at the
current system
27 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
32. PENETRATION
New vs Current system ( urban ) (CONTD.)
Purchased in Past 6 Months - Instant Noodles Purchased in Past 6 Months - Instant Noodles
59 60
60
50 48
50 47
40 38
40 40 33
28 30 26
30
22 18
20 18 20
14 13
10 9
10 7 10
5 2 4
2
0 0
A1 A2 A3 B1 B2 C1 C2 D1 D2 E1 E2 E3 A1 A2 B1 B2 C D E1 E2
Purchased in Past 6 Months - Toilet Cleaners Purchased in Past 6 Months - Toilet Cleaners
100 92 100
90 82 90 81
80 80
69 69
70 70
58 60
60 60
50 46 47
50
40 33 37
40
27
30 30 22
19 18
20 10 20
9
10 5 2 10
1
0 0
A1 A2 A3 B1 B2 C1 C2 D1 D2 E1 E2 E3 A1 A2 B1 B2 C D E1 E2
MRUC/Hansa Research –IRS 2008 (round 20)
32 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
33. PERFORMANCE ON DISCRIMINATION
India ( u + r )
Gini coefficients for New SEC system compared with benchmark
Penetration
Own Microwave oven 0.4
Own Internet access at home - Through PC / TV 0.7
Own PC at home 1.6
Own Camera (still/ digital) 3.5
Housewife have read a magazine in the last 7 5.8
days
Own DVD player 6.8
Own Kitchen Sink 8.2
Own - Mobile / Cellular Phone 12.4
Own Telephone 12.6
Receive Cable & Satellite 31.2
Own Pressure cooker 37.0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
New System Gini Values
Benchmark System (MHI)
Data Source: MRUC/ Hansa Research - IRS 2008 (Round 20)
33 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
34. PERFORMANCE ON DISCRIMINATION
India ( u + r ) (CONTD.)
Gini coefficients for New SEC system compared with benchmark
Penetration
Jam 3.3
Ketchup / Sauces 5.3
Chocolates 6.6
Instant Noodles 6.7
Floor Cleaners 11.6
Toilet Cleaners 14.1
Soft drinks/Fruit Juices 15.8
Skin Creams/Lotions 21.4
Utensil cleaners 29.7
Fabric whiteners / blues 49.8
Toothpaste 57.7
Shampoo 75.1
Bathing Soaps / Liquid Soaps 95.8
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
New System Gini Values
Benchmark System (MHI) *Purchased in the last 6 months except soft drinks, skin creams and chocolates
Data Source: MRUC/ Hansa Research - IRS 2008 (Round 20)
34 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM 34
35. GINI CO-EFFICIENTS
Urban
Gini coefficients for New SEC system compared with benchmark
Penetration
Own Microwave oven 1.0
Own Internet access at home - Through PC / TV 1.9
Own PC at home 4.5
Own Camera (still/ digital) 8.5
Housewife have read a magazine in the last 7 days 12.7
Own DVD player 15.7
Own Kitchen Sink 20.9
Own Telephone 23.8
Own - Mobile / Cellular Phone 25.9
Receive Cable & Satellite 60.0
Own Pressure cooker 69.6
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Gini Values
New System
Current System Data Source: MRUC/ Hansa Research - IRS 2008 (Round 20)
35 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM 35
36. GINI CO-EFFICIENTS
Urban (CONTD.)
Gini coefficients for New SEC system compared with benchmark
Penetration
Processed Cheese/Cheese Products
4.1
Jam
8.9
Ketchup / Sauces
15.2
Chocolates
15.4
Instant Noodles
17.4
Soft drinks/Fruit Juices
28.3
Floor Cleaners
30.2
Skin Creams/Lotions
30.6
Toilet Cleaners
32.0
Utensil cleaners
59.9
Fabric whiteners / blues
60.1
Toothpaste
80.8
Shampoo
84.9
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
New System Gini Values
*Purchased in the last 6 months except soft drinks, skin creams and chocolates
Current System Data Source: MRUC/ Hansa Research - IRS 2008 (Round 20)
36 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM 36
37. GINI CO-EFFICIENTS
Rural
Gini coefficients for New SEC system compared with benchmark
Penetration
Own Microwave oven 0.1
Own Internet access at home - Through PC / TV 0.1
Own PC at home 0.3
Own Camera (still/ digital) 1.3
Own Kitchen Sink 2.7
Housewife have read a magazine in the last 7 days 2.8
Own DVD player 2.8
Own - Mobile / Cellular Phone 6.6
Own Telephone 7.6
Rural Assets - Table Fan 13.4
Receive Cable & Satellite 18.6
Own Pressure cooker 22.8
Rural Assets - In-house toilet 30.9
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
New System Gini Values
Current System Data Source: MRUC/ Hansa Research - IRS 2008 (Round 20)
37 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM 37
38. GINI CO-EFFICIENTS
Rural (CONTD.)
Gini coefficients for New SEC system compared with benchmark
Penetration
Instant Noodles 2.1
Chocolates 2.8
Floor Cleaners 3.5
Toilet Cleaners 6.2
Soft drinks/Fruit Juices 10.4
Utensil cleaners 16.5
Skin Creams/Lotions 17.4
Fabric whiteners / blues 45.3
Toothpaste 47.6
Shampoo 70.8
Biscuits 73.2
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Gini Values
New System
*Purchased in the last 6 months except soft drinks, skin creams and chocolates
Current System Data Source: MRUC/ Hansa Research - IRS 2008 (Round 20)
38 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
39. PERFORMANCE ON DISCRIMINATION
Conclusion
The new SEC system is better than the current
urban system , and much better than the current
rural system
39 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
40. PERFORMANCE OF THE SYSTEM
Homogeneity within the grade : India (u + r)
MHI System New SEC System
Inter Inter
Distribution of Median Distribution of Median
Level Quartile Level Quartile
Households % LIFE Households % LIFE
Range (IQR) Range (IQR)
1 0.5 702 186 A1 0.4 804 116
2 1.5 618 236 A2 1.8 687 150
3 4.2 514 243 A3 3.2 590 173
4 3.5 455 236 B1 4.3 494 172
5 4.7 391 227 B2 5.3 430 164
6 7.1 347 207 C1 7.5 369 142
7 11.7 289 178 C2 7.9 319 124
8 19.3 232 155 D1 11.4 270 117
9 19.2 181 139 D2 14.7 222 106
10 13.5 136 110 E1 18.4 164 90
11 12.9 125 111 E2 15.4 117 75
12 2.1 95 101 E3 9.7 80 65
THE NEW SEC SYSTEM Median LIFE (Urban + Rural): 220
41. PERFORMANCE OF THE SYSTEM
Homogeneity within the grade : India (u + r)
MHI System New SEC System
Distribution of Inter Quartile Distribution of Inter Quartile
Level Median LIFE Level Median LIFE
Households % Range (IQR) Households % Range (IQR)
1 0.5 702 186 A1 0.4 804 116
2 1.5 618 236 A2 1.8 687 150
3 4.2 514 243 A3 3.2 590 173
4 3.5 455 236 B1 4.3 494 172
5 4.7 391 227 B2 5.3 430 164
6 7.1 347 207 C1 7.5 369 142
7 11.7 289 178 C2 7.9 319 124
8 19.3 232 155 D1 11.4 270 117
9 19.2 181 139 D2 14.7 222 106
10 13.5 136 110 E1 18.4 164 90
11 12.9 125 111 E2 15.4 117 75
12 2.1 95 101 E3 9.7 80 65
THE NEW SEC SYSTEM Median LIFE (Urban + Rural): 220
42. PERFORMANCE OF THE SYSTEM
Homogeneity within the grade : Urban India
Current SEC System New SEC System
Distribution of Inter Quartile Distribution of Inter Quartile
Level Median LIFE Level Median LIFE
Households % Range (IQR) Households % Range (IQR)
SEC A1 2.8 702 189 A1 1.1 807 106
SEC A2 6.6 616 225 A2 5.1 704 132
SEC B1 A3 7.6 610 147
7.9 539 215
B1 8.6 532 158
SEC B2 8.0 467 221
B2 10.2 463 158
SEC C 20.5 408 210
C1 12.9 399 136
SEC D 24.0 320 167
C2 11.6 347 118
SEC E1 11.9 280 155
D1 13.2 300 113
SEC E2 18.2 212 137
D2 12.6 251 100
E1 9.8 194 92
E2 4.7 148 93
E3 2.6 112 80
42 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM Median LIFE (Urban India): 354
43. PERFORMANCE ON HOMOGENEITY
Conclusion
The new SEC system is able to reduce
heterogeneity within social grade- and stretch
the differences by grade
43 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
45. In Conclusion
We have a system that is simple, easy to administer. It
gives us good discrimination; the social grades created
are more homogenous
But we do need to revisit the system at least once every two
years; and make sure that when a change is needed, this is
a smooth process
It’s easy to begin using the new system. For those who
need to keep track of the old SEC for reasons of
comparability, the new system means just one more
question- which can be tagged on right at the end.
45 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
48. 01.Variables in the LIFE scoring system
HOUSEHOLD DURABLES FMCG
Electricity Air Conditioner Tea/ Coffee Biscuits #
LPG Stove Personal Computer/ Laptop Skin Creams/Lotions Toothpaste/ toothpowder #
Urban
oriented Type of accommodation # Mode of Transportation # Soft drinks/Fruit Juices Washing cakes / bars #
items
Material on roof # Refrigerator Fabric whiteners / blues Washing powders / liquids #
Material on wall # Washing Machine Cooking oil: vanaspati/ edible Toilet Cleaners
Rural #
oriented
items Kitchen sink Ceiling Fan Ghee / Desi Ghee Talcum Powder
Subscribe newspaper TV/ Cable & satellite # Toilet Soaps/bathing
soaps/Liquid Soaps #
Affluence Travel abroad * Camera #
oriented
items Land ownership * Music/entertainmentl #
Telephone
Tractor/ Power tiller
POINTS 250 300 450
48 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM # contains sub-levels ; (*): Travel abroad- Urban only / Land ownership: Rural only
49. 02.The master set of consumer durables
No.
S.
Item All India Urban Rural
1 0.5 1.6 0.1
Air conditioner
2 1.6 3.9 0.5
Automobile
3 4.0 11.5 0.7
Washing machine
4 13.1 30.6 5.5
Refrigerator
5 35.5 64.2 22.9
Color TV
6 15.1 27.4 9.7
Two wheeler
7 37.0 69.6 22.8
Pressure cooker
8 33.6 68.2 18.4
LPG stove
9 55.4 83.6 43.0
Ceiling fan
10 73.4 94.7 64.1
Electricity connection
11 - 0.1 n/a
More than one car (Urban specific)
12 1.8 5.2 0.3
Personal Computer/ laptop
13 - n/a 35.1
Agricultural Land (Rural specific)
14 - n/a 1.8
Tractor (Rural specific)
* Source : MRUC/Hansa Research a sample of 39441 from IRS 2008 (Round 20)
THE NEW SEC SYSTEM
50. 03.All India benchmark: MHI groups used
MHI
MHI Groups
Grades
1 Rs.20001 +
2 Rs.12001 to Rs.20000
3 Rs.8001 to Rs.12000
4 Rs.6001 to Rs.8000
5 Rs.5001 to Rs.6000
6 Rs.4001 to Rs.5000
7 Rs.3001 to Rs.4000
8 Rs.2001 to Rs.3000
9 Rs.1501 to Rs.2000
10 Rs.1001 to Rs.1500
11 Rs.501 to Rs.1000
12 Up to Rs.500
50 THE NEW SEC SYSTEM