Bauer, M: Household Life Cycle and Lifestyles

The objective of the present work was the segmentation of households in the German market according to empirically defined stages in the household life cycle. A three-stage quantitative research design based on longitudinal panel data enabled the determination of the most common household life cycle stages and the transition probabilities between them. Furthermore, lifestyle differences in terms of activities, interests and opinions in those stages were analyzed. The study revealed significant lifestyle variation and can be used as a starting point for future studies in marketing theory. Moreover, this work can benefit marketing managers, particularly by providing a basis for the development of communication strategies and new product introduction.