Persona

Amanda is a forty year old white woman. She lives in an upper-middle class
neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri. She is married with three kids, ages seven, five and four. She and her husband both work full-time; she is an OB/GYN doctor who works in an office with three other doctors. Her family’s household income is in the $300,000-$400,000 range.

Amanda takes pride in her appearance and is always well put together, even at work. She follows fashion trends, getting ideas for potential purchases from trends she sees at the tennis club or at a friend’s dinner party. She receives messages about fashion from a small amount of television she watches as well as advertisements in the magazines she reads. She enjoys reading People while waiting for a flight like many other women, but also subscribes to The New Yorker.

She is technologically savvy, but does not have the time or desire to blog. She has started hearing about Pinterest but wonders what she would really use if for and even she even has the time for it. She has an iPad and enjoys using it tremendously. In terms of online shopping, she buys certain things online, mainly books. She still prefers to go a local retailer and be able to try garments on rather than deal with buying something on-line and having to deal with sending it back if it isn’t right.

Amanda does not shop on a regular basis. Between her job and her family, spare time is hard to find and while she does enjoy shopping, she would prefer to spend the time working out or just spending time with her friends or family. When she does find the time to shop, Amanda is not scared off by high prices. She is a value shopper, preferring to own a few very nice pieces rather than a closet full of outfits purveyed at Forever 21. Excellent customer service is a way to win Amanda’s business. Sending her coupons in the morning newspaper is not. She generally shops alone, enjoying the time she has to herself.

In general, she worries mostly about her children, wanting them to have the chance to get an education and have a career as satisfying as the one she now enjoys. She and her husband are prudent savers but also feel good about rewarding themselves and have a comfortable (and often stylish) way of life. Amanda has a high level of self-confidence as a result of her own successes and while she attributes her material desires mainly to following what she thinks is attractive, she does still feel the need to fit in with her peer group of wealthy middle-aged mothers.