Barnet Customer Segments

3.1 Introduction

Each person in Barnet has been grouped into 1 of 17 customer segments which are customer portraits based on CAMEO demographic and lifestyle data produced by Call Credit Information Group. The segments are created at household level and every person in a household belongs to the same customer segment. People in each group broadly have the same characteristics which drive their common needs, interests and behaviours. Understanding the characteristics of the customer segments will help to better deliver services to Barnet residents *

This chapter introduces the 17 Barnet customer segments and describes them by their age, income, life-stage and where they live. Self- reported health of each of the segments is detailed along with the effect of limiting long-term illness on peoples’ ability to work. This chapter concludes with a section that suggests which customer segments will be the heaviest users of health services in the borough and how addressing their needs will have a wider socio-economic impact.

* All analyses in this chapter are based on CAMEO CallCredit data (February, 2015), which comprises individual-level and household-level information about 235,529 Barnet residents aged 16+.

3.2 Profile of Barnet Customer Segments

To introduce relevant characteristics of the 17 customer segments, a brief description of each is presented below. The CAMEO information that can be used for profiling health data is relatively limited, but the key findings are summarised in the segment description.

Educated, Affluent Families (17% of Barnet households**)

Households from this segment are highly affluent and educated, with young children. These are residents of all ages, often earning over £50,000, and owning large, expensive homes. They often engage in fun family sports and are active parents. A staggering 86% report good health, and a further 10% fairly good health, making them the healthiest segment in Barnet.

Sophisticated Singles (15%)

They are educated, affluent singles or divorcees who own pricey properties. Their age ranges from 25 to 65 and their earnings are mostly upwards of £30,000. These residents enjoy summer sports and travelling. An impressive 86% report very good health, and 10% fairly good health, placing them 3rdamong the healthiest Barnet segments.

Low Income House sharers (13%)

These residents are low income, blue collar or unemployed house sharers. They can be friends, family or same-sex couples living in pairs, who are renting or owning small, low value properties. They can be of all ages and earn in the range of £15,000 - £30,000. The residents in this group often spend their leisure time exercising and are health aware. They enjoy a reasonably good health, with 5% reporting poor health.

Financially Secure Retirees (10%)

The residents in this segment are financially secure, educated pensioners who own expensive properties. They are either couples or widowed singles aged 65 and over, with a household income of £30,000 or more. They enjoy traditional sports and playing with their grandchildren. A health aware segment, they mostly report a good (85%) and fairly good health (10.9%), being in the top quartile of healthiest residents.

Comfortable Older Families (8%)

These growing family households are economically active, educated, white collar, owning larg average-value properties and are often burdened by large mortgages. They can be of mixed ages, ranging from 20 to 70 and bring home an income between £20,000 and £50,000. They enjoy spending time with their family and playing golf. While their health is generally good, slightly over 5% report poor health, placing them in the second quartile of healthiest residents.

Affluent Singles (8%)

These residents are highly affluent, educated, upwardly mobile, energetic and ambitious singles who share or own high value properties. They are generally aged 25 to 45 and earn over £40,000. The residents in this group often spend their leisure time exercising and are health aware. They are the second healthiest segment in Barnet, with just 4% reporting poor health.

Penny-wise Pensioners (6%)

These are households of minimal income, formerly blue collar, settled elderly couples or widowed singles who own small, low-value properties or live in residential homes. They are aged 65 and over and their income is often below £20,000. A rather high proportion report poor health (5.56%), placing them in the medium high group of least healthy Barnet segments. They are likely to have health problems and spend most of their time in their home.

Financially Restricted Single Parents (5%)

These residents are financially restricted, white collar, part-timers or home makers, government supported single parents of all ages. They are living in council homes or renting low value properties, and usually have an income of under £30,000. With 5.14% reporting poor health, these residents are in the medium high group of least healthy Barnet segments.

Secure older people (4%)

These households are comfortably retired, well settled, established couples or widowed singles of mixed former occupations who own modest properties. Aged over 55, they have an income between £20,000 and £30,000. They are a health aware group and often spend their time gardening. With 83.7% reporting good health and a further 11.7% fairly good health, they fall into the second quartile of healthiest Barnet residents.

Contended Greys (4%)

These are empty house and full wallet households of educated, settled couples, either reaching or starting to enjoy their retirement years. Aged 45 to 65, they usually have an income of over £40,000 and own large, expensive homes. They like to keep active and often spend their leisure time travelling, gardening and playing golf. An impressive proportion enjoys good (84.8%) and fairly good (10.9%) health, placing them in the top quartile of most healthy Barnet residents.

Low Income Singles (3%)

These are households of financially constrained, blue collar or unemployed, single residents who are renting low quality housing or living in council homes. They are generally aged 40 to 65, mostly living alone, with an income below £20,000 and often in receipt of benefits. Among this non-sporty group the proportion of residents who report poor health is rather high (5.78%), placing them in the highest group of least healthy Barnet segments.

Well Educated and Employed Single Parents (2%)

The residents in this segment are financially secure, educated, working single parents who share or own high value properties. Their age ranges between 20 and 45 and their income is usually over £30,000. They enjoy spending time with their kids and travelling. A health aware group, they mostly enjoy a good (85.5%) and fairly good (10.3%) health, being among the top quartile of healthiest segments in the borough.

Financially Restricted Single Students and Friends (2%)

These residents are financially limited, young independent singles, students and friends living together in rented low value properties. They are aged 20 to 45 and have an income of less than £20,000. Although they spend a lot of their leisure time exercising, 5.98% report a poor health, which places them among the least healthy segments.

Prosperous Young Couples Without Kids (2%)

These are extremely affluent households of educated young couples with dual incomes and no kids who live in mortgaged medium to high value properties. Aged 25 to 45, they often earn over £50,000. They are a health aware group and enjoy travelling. With 85.1% reporting a good health and 10.7% a fairly good health, this segment is among the healthiest in Barnet.

Financially Secure Singles (1%)

They are financially comfortable, educated singles living alone who rent or own average value properties. They are aged 25 to 45 and earn in the range of £25,000-£30,000. A health aware group, they spend much of their leisure time exercising. With a moderate 4.64% rating their health as poor, they fall into the second quartile of healthiest Barnet segments.

Struggling Families (1%)

These very low income households, of blue collar or unemployed families with children live in council properties or in owned low-priced properties. They can be of mixed ages and usually earn below £20,000.

Low Income Couples (1%)

These are low income households of blue collar or unemployed couples with no children who rent low price properties or live on council estates. They are generally aged over 40 and earn in the range of £20,000-£30,000, often receiving benefits. This non-sporty group is the least healthy segment in Barnet, with 6.36% of residents reporting poor health.

3.3 Profile of Barnet

Barnet is older, has a larger proportion of families and has higher household incomes compared to the rest of London. As would be expected, Barnet has a broad similar distribution of segments when compared to its statistical neighbours,* though when contrasted against Hounslow and Merton, Barnet’s population is again older and more family oriented. Comparing Barnet to Kingston-upon-Thames, the two populations are very similar (see Table 3.1). Throughout this document, Barnet is compared to statistical neighbours. Kingston-Upon-Thames can be used as an exemplar approach when it outperforms Barnet at addressing certain health problems.

Table 3.1: Segment composition of Barnet compared to statistical neighbours

Source: CAMEO CallCredit data.

Different areas in Barnet have different profiles, meaning that services should be tailored to best serve their local populations. The east of the borough, along the A5 corridor is home to a younger population dominated by Low income house sharers sharing high density living while attending University or working lower paid jobs. It is also the location of Barnet’s largest housing estates which account for the higher than average populations of Low income singles, Struggling families and Low income couples.

Following the High Road north through the centre of Barnet from Child’s Hill to Totteridge, households are mostly comprised of families (Educated, affluent families, Comfortable Older Families), professionals (Affluent Singles, Prosperous young couples without kids, Sophisticated Singles) and affluent retirees (Financially secure retirees, Wealthy and nearing retirement). These areas are the most affluent parts of the borough with high levels of employment, income and education.

The west and north of Barnet is a mixture of all segments, with larger proportions of families (including the highest proportions of Comfortable Older Families) and older households (Secure older people and Wealthy and nearing retirement). People in these areas tend to be of mid-level affluence compared to the rest of the borough (refer to Figure 3.1).

Figure 3.1: Location by ward of the five segments with the worst self reported health

Source: CAMEO CallCredit data.

3.4 Data related to health in the segments

While limited, the segments include data on self-reported health, long-term illness and long-term illness affecting worklessness. The five customer segments with the poorest self-reported health are also the segments in Barnet with the lowest household income (Pound Stretching Twosomes, Financially restricted single students and friends, Struggling families, Low income singles and Pennywise Pensioners). Segments comprised of the more affluent older population (Secure older people and Wealthy and nearing retirement and Financially secure retirees) do not report their health as being any worse than other younger more affluent segments in the borough. Economic inactivity, limiting long-term illness and household income are inextricably linked to Barnet’s customer segments (see Table 3.2). The same five customer segments noted above (Pound Stretching Twosomes, Financially restricted single students and friends, Struggling families, Low income singles and Pennywise Pensioners) have the lowest household incomes, poorest self-reported health and highest occurrences of health affecting their ability to work. Those five groups comprise 13% of Barnet’s population; an improvement to their health would have further reaching societal impact.

Table 3.2: Economic inactivity and long-term illness

Source: CAMEO CallCredit data.

3.5 Conclusion

The top 5 customer segments most likely to require health services are Low income couples, Financially restricted single students and friends, Struggling families, Low income singles, and Penny-wise pensioners as they are the residents most likely to report less good health, to have a limiting long-term illness or a disability. They are mostly living in the west of the borough, particularly Burnt Oak and Colindale and represent 13% of Barnet’s population (about 30,000 residents). Penny-wise pensioners represent the largest of this group (about 14,500 residents) and are likely to have more complex health care needs due to their advanced age.