Mapping Consumer Vulnerability
The Consumer Data Research Centre’s Map of the Month for July 2018 is a map of Consumer Vulnerability, showing a geodemographic classification developed by LIDA Intern Michael Adcock.
Some consumers are more vulnerable to marketing practices due to their personal traits such as age, health or household makeup. This vulnerability varies by product and industry. Consumer vulnerability here is defined as the risk that a consumer’s mental, physical or financial welfare may be damaged when engaging in a market interaction.
While consumer vulnerability has been discussed at length in academic literature and regulatory guidelines, there has not been a comprehensive geographical assessment of consumer vulnerability in the United Kingdom. This study creates a geodemographic classification of consumer vulnerability at output area level.
Michael completed the project as part of his internship here at LIDA, during which he worked alongside his supervisors Nik Lomax and Stephen Clark. Further details about the work, including the methodology and the data itself, is available here.
The interactive map is available to browse on CDRC Maps.
Interested in becoming a LIDA Data Scientist Intern?
We are currently recruiting for the next cohort of interns, who will join us here in LIDA from October 2018. The successful candidates will be mentored by leading scholars and get hands-on experience working with real data.