Social Grade

There are several demographic classification systems used in market research. A well established system, as well as the most widely known and used, is that of social grading, derived from the British National Readership Survey (NRS).

Whilst everyone in the industry is familiar with the term social grade and its six groups A, B, C1, C2, D and E, what is less well known is how social grade is defined and how it can be used as a powerful discriminator.

Social grade in its current form has been used on the NRS since the 1960s and has provided a valuable insight into changes in the occupational make-up of Britain over time. Ipsos MediaCT has a long association with the NRS and has been the research contractor since 1977.  Looking at the last 50 years of NRS data, and taking those classified as AB (higher and intermediate managerial, administrative or professional occupations) as an example, the proportion has increased from 12% to 27%.