A central component of SINUS lifeworld research is the documentation and analysis of living environments. For decades, we’ve been investigating, describing and documenting the mindset and style preferences regarding home living in different social groups. Home living is an expression of lifestyle and values, and a signature of everyday esthetic preferences. Accordingly, the analysis of living environments offers a graphic background to help with understanding social conditions.
Our information package “Wohnen, Einrichten, Leben” (“Home Living and Furnishing”) bundles milieu-specific information on living styles and architectural orientation, attitudes toward home living and furnishing, decision-making and investment behavior, affinity with places of purchase and brands, and acquisition planning. This data helps architects and interior designers – whether in private or social housing, restaurants, or the hotel industry. We also advise furniture stores on target-group-specific product development and PoS design.
The real estate and housing industry is facing major challenges. Customer behavior has changed drastically under the impact of demographic change on the one hand and the information and education now available on the internet on the other. It has become altogether more heterogeneous. In addition to rational argumentation in residential real estate – architecture, fixtures, floor area, floor plan, technology and price – emotional factors are becoming increasingly important. A home is a basic human need that is influenced by social status, lifestyle and quality of life.
Sinus-Milieus provide a sound basis for placing real estate and housing types on the market in an emotional and valuable way – in accordance with the proven principle that “birds of a feather stick together”. For many years, we have been applying the Sinus Model to the conception, product development and marketing of residential real estate and development areas in cooperation with the Cologne-based strategy consultancy wahrZeichen. Milieu information based on the location and catchment area and microgeographical evaluations enable us to make well-founded market, product and price forecasts and to localize potential areas for acquisition.
In order to make the Sinus-Milieus usable for spatial planning, they have been embedded in microgeographic data. With this tool, we show where the individual milieu target groups can be found and with what probability. Among other things, this can be used to improve location- or branch network planning for a specific catchment area, minimize communication-related wastage in fundraising and direct mailings, and optimize advertising routes through address selections.
