Values and Lifestyles (VALS) - Explained
What are VALS?
Written by J. Mance Gordon
Updated at April 17th, 2024
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What are Values and Lifestyles (VALS)?
Values and Lifestyles is an approach to market segmentation whereby consumers are segmented into mutually exclusive groups based on their psychographics. Acronym is VALS.
VALS segmentation has been used to:
- Identify target markets.
- Geographically locate consumers
- Undertand consumer behavior
- Product development and improvement
- Targeted advertising campaigns, and
- Product positioning.
What are the Types of VALS?
VALS groups consumer segments based upon two dimensions: primary motivation (ideals, achievement, and self-expression) and resources (energy, self-confidence, intellectualism, novelty seeking, innovativeness, impulsiveness, leadership, and vanity).
The current eight VALS types are: Innovators, Thinkers, Achievers, Experiencers, Believers, Strivers, Makers, and Survivors.
Once individuals are classed based upon their style of living, the marketer then determines how marketing factors fit into their lives. This perspective provides a three-dimensional view of the target consumer.