Using Habitus in Modern Marketing
Habitus is what we all “know” without consciously thinking about what we know. Like when we attend a social function. We just “know” how far to stand away from someone speaking, what tone of voice to use, when to shake hands or not, what gestures to make and what topics are off the table.
You might think of habits as our own person software. It develops as we develop, influenced and evolved from our interactions with friends and family and the culture that we live in and especially the one we grew up in.
So why is habitus important in marketing today? Think of it as unconscious brand preference programming. And that’s where you want to be. Customers don’t evaluate brands rationally, much as we'd like to think they do, but they don't. Their habitus recognises whether your brand “fit” into the identity even before conscious thought begins. It’s a perfect place to be. Except when you misread the habitus of your market like Jaguar did in its re-brand.
Take for example, Whole Foods. They don’t consciously think “oh hey, I’m going to buy organic.” Their habitus, shaped by their eduction, cultural values social circle and lifestyle makes organic a natural choice. A Walmart shopper has different habitus programming that aligns more with value and that feels natural to them. It’s not so much about money, but more about embodied class position and what feels “right” for someone.
For marketers you want to think about your customers dispositional patterns, which is essentially their unconscious shopping GPS. Their automatic response systems, like muscle memory but for choices. Dispositional patterns are the invisible rules your customers follow without thinking. Like what feels “fancy vs “cheap” or which brand feels “authentic” vs “trying too hard.”
Dispositional Examples:
The Costco Shopper:
Bulk buying feels smart and responsible
Brand names feel like unnecessary markup
Shopping trips are planned missions, not browsing
"Good value" matters more than "perfect fit"
The Boutique Shopper:
Mass retail feels impersonal and low-quality
Unique items feel worth paying extra for
Shopping is discovery and self-expression
"Perfect fit" matters more than "good deal"
Same income level, completely different automatic responses to retail experiences.
While your competitors focus on products, services and/or features, you want you want to speak your customers unconscious language of social positioning and identity confirmation. Their habitus. Your selling their way of “being” in the world. You want to win the unconscious territory where brand loyalty actually lives. This is about recognising how humans actually make choices in a world of infinite options.
So this creates a sort of identity crisis for marketers.
While you're optimising for "25-34 urban professionals with $75K+ income," they're busy becoming someone entirely different through their next purchase decision. Every click, share, and buy signal is identity work. A conscious curation of who they're becoming and how they see themselves. Demographics, built into personas, are certainly helpful, but they only go so far, and completely miss identity. Habitus.
The traditional model assumes:
- Static demographic categories
- Rational purchase evaluation
- Product features drive decisions
- Brand loyalty based on satisfaction
Digital reality reveals:
- Fluid identity performance
- Intuitive, embodied responses
- Symbolic meaning drives choice
- Loyalty based on identity alignment
So what's your target market's habitus? The better you understand this, the more interesting opportunities arise and the better your strategy and brand positioning will be.
