Cogent, in conjunction with Ragdoll Research, has undertaken a major research project investigating the UK home moving market. The attitudinal segmentation of UK home movers uncovers the key reasons why people move. Cogent also engaged Professor Richard Crisp, Head of the Department of Psychology at Durham University to explore the behavioural psychology behind the spending decisions these home movers make.

The result of this project is the ‘Moving Minds’ report which introduces the UK’s home mover categories, or tribes, delves into the psychology behind the mindsets that influence their purchase behaviour and explores the opportunities this presents for brands.

Every year, around 11 per cent of the UK’s adult population move home, according to Royal Mail. And it’s an ‘inertia-buster’ that changes our spending behaviours dramatically. In the first 12 months after moving, we spend roughly the same on home improvements as we do in each of the five years that follow.  Approximately £16bn of UK consumer spend each year is attributed to people moving home.

The new research will add significant depth to marketers’ understanding of the fertile home mover market, by adding insight around why they move to the ‘where’ and ‘when’ data currently available. 

Bruce Hutton, Cogent’s CEO, explains: “It is apparent that when people move to a new home they spend money – not only on the usual expenses attributed to moving – but to making their new home better.  This provides a massive opportunity for brands to target consumers at a time when they are minded to splash out a bit more than they normally would on items for the home.

“At Cogent we have helped countless brands over the years to unlock important opportunities like this, but times are continuing to change. We decided to take a fresh, in-depth look at how best to approach segmenting home movers, believing the starting point would be to understand their real motivations for moving. If we could understand people’s mindset, we’d be able to build a more detailed picture of what drives their decision making.

“Armed with this insight, we’re better placed to help brands develop and deliver more authentic and effective marketing communications that resonate and cut through to deliver results.”

Cogent’s Moving Minds report is available here. The project was developed in conjunction with Ragdoll Research and Professor Richard Crisp, Head of Psychology at Durham University. Moving Minds provides brands with the opportunity to look at home mover targeting from a fresh perspective that will help unlock significant value from their marketing investment.

Bruce Hutton added:  “Anyone who would like to find out more about this fascinating insight into the UK home moving market and how we can help them should get in touch with us. We’re keen to share what we’ve discovered and to work with brands to maximise the opportunities this exciting research project is presenting.”