Measurement of the AIO is used by marketers as a research tool to determine influences on consumer behavior and appropriate consumer markets. Researchers will ask respondents to state how strongly they agree or disagree with a series of statements about their activities, interest, and opinions. Answers are linked to demographics . Questionnaires are typically quite lengthy and contain statements such as:
I would rather stay home than go out for fun.
I dress for comfort rather than fashion.
I enjoy watching talk shows on television.
I am the kind of person who loves to make impulsive purchases.
I always plan very carefully.
Evaluation of the AIO is most useful in planning marketing strategy because it will help to identify the lifestyle group toward which a product will be targeted.
Source: http://www.allbusiness.com/glossaries/activities-interests-opinions-aio/4962100-1.html#ixzz26SewMeg9
Values, Attitudes, and Lifestyles System (VALS-2) Definition
Proprietary psychographic consumer segmentation system that classifies people into eight basic lifestyle groups on the basis of two dimensions: resources and self-orientation. Resource dimension includes education, income, intelligence, health, energy level, and eagerness to purchase resources that, in general, increase from youth to middle age decline afterwards. Self-orientation is divided into three parts (1) Principle oriented: having set views. (2) Status oriented: influenced by other's