Best Customers serves as a user-friendly resource to consumer spending data extracted from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ annual Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES). First introduced in 1999, Best Customers consisted of 19 chapters. V.E. Young, in a review in the periodical Choice, described it as “a handy calculation of consumer spending patterns” (Young, 2000, p. 1962). Now in its eleventh edition, Best Customers, published annually, retains the same basic format but with updated data expanding this one-volume resource to 21 chapters and close to 800 pages. Data are based on the 2013 CES.
The US CES is compiled annually and has been around in some form or other, since the late 1800s. The Bureau of Labor Statistics describes the CES as “the only Federal survey to provide information on the complete range of consumers’ expenditures and incomes, as well as the characteristics of those consumers” (US Department of Labor, 2016). Although the CES website (www.bls.gov/cex) includes databases, tables and public-use microdata, all with free access, Best Customers reconfigures this data into an easy-to-use format and adds a level of detail not available in either the tables or databases. For example, Best Customers readers will find a profile on consumers who have purchased bicycles. CES website users will not find any references to bicycles in either the CES tables or databases. To access consumer bicycle data, users will need to download and search the public-use microdata, which will be a steep learning curve for inexperienced data users.
The 21 chapters in Best Customers, arranged alphabetically, are named after different spending categories. Chapter one, for example, is Alcoholic Beverages, Chapter two is Apparel and so on. Each chapter starts with a summary followed by two-page consumer profiles for products and services that fall within the chapter category. For example, Chapter five, Entertainment, begins with a three-page review of average spending for entertainment between 2000 and 2013. This information is followed by 35 entertainment product and service consumer profiles. Examples of products and services covered include Camping Equipment, Hunting and Fishing Equipment, Online Gaming Services, Television Sets, and Video Game software. The longest chapter is Chapter nine, Groceries, with 83 consumer product profiles covering all types of food items (e.g., Bananas and Cheese). The shortest chapters are Chapter 17, Telephone Service and Equipment and Chapter 18, Tobacco Products, both with four profiles each (e.g., Cellular Phone Service and Cigarettes).
All profiles begin with a title (e.g., Bathroom Linens), followed by a list of two-five key customers (e.g., Householders aged 35-54) and a one-sentence trends summation. Then, a two-paragraph summary follows outlining key points, which in turn is followed by a table that provides average spending amounts, the best customers compared to the national average (indexed spending) and market share. Table statistics are grouped into six categories – Age of Householder, Household Income, Household Type, Race and Hispanic Origin, Region, and Education of Household. So, for example, the profile titled Recreational Vehicles (Boats, Campers, Trailers), Purchase and Rental begins with a list of the six best type of customers (e.g., Households in the West) and a trend statement tying discretionary income with money spent on recreational vehicles. A two-paragraph summary then goes into more detail about spending trends. This type of narrative synopsis is generally not available through the data-focused CES website. The table portion in Best Customers helps readers identify RV spending and renting trends by age, income, household type, region, race and education.
Readers should be aware that average spending dollar amounts are determined by dividing total household spending by the total number of households. As a result, average spending figures for items purchased by a small number of households (e.g., RVs) will be very low. Readers need to check the table called Average Quarter 2013, Percent Reporting Expenditure and Amount Spent located in Appendix B for more accurate spending figures. Additional materials include background information on the CES, a ranking of products and services by amount spent, a table on spending trends from 2000-2013, a five-page Glossary and an Index.
There are competitors. As mentioned earlier, users can freely access the CES website. Content on the website is more current (2014 data compared to 2013 data in Best Customers), and website users can access statistics based on Metropolitan Statistical Area, a feature not in Best Customers.However, expenditure data on the website are less detailed and somewhat cumbersome to access. People experienced with statistical analysis programs can download public-use microdata for free from the CES homepage. The publisher of Best Customers, New Strategist Press, also publishes a 14-volume Who’s Buying series. These titles contain much of the same information provided by Best Customers, are published annually and focus on specific market segments: for example, Who’s Buying Apparel (2015). The biennial market research handbooks published by Richard K. Millar & Associates (Restaurant, Food & Beverage Market Research Handbook 2016-2017, 2016) provide additional supporting market information rather than duplicate information within Best Customers. There are also resources that cover, in most instances, a larger selection of products and services (including specific brands) but at a much higher price tag. These include, among others, the databases Simmons OneView (www.experian.com) and SimplyMap (geographicresearch.com).
Best Customers is a good source for US consumer product and service profiles and would be useful for those thinking about starting a business or the student doing business research. Best Customers is available in both print and digital formats. It is especially useful for libraries with small budgets and a key resource for academic and public libraries.
