Self-navigators redefine buying trends

Nation's Restaurant News, Sept 16, 1996

NEW YORK-Marketers looking to define the values and behaviors of the next wave of buyers will be interested to know that a new code of ethics is being defined by a group of buyers known as "self-navigators."

A recent study by The Brain Waves Group identified self-navigators as a subculture that includes more than 26 percent of the U.S. adult population. More than half its members are under 35 years old. Self-navigators reject tradition and conformity; embrace close personal relationships, security and fun; and are aware of threats, skeptical of safety nets and often self-reliant.

The study, which was published in American Demographics, identified self-navigators as one of four subgroups. The other groups are post-yuppies, family-values boomers and hard-core traditionalists.