One good example would be the recent Green Party victory in the Gorton and Denton by-election, an area in which low-income owner-occupied terraces made way for private rentals – and with it, the influx of a younger, educated but not-yet-affluent population. The second development is the growing use of names to infer cultural heritage, which is the basis of the ORIGINS system I’ve developed. By analysing both given names and surnames, it’s possible to identify patterns linked to ethnic or cultural backgrounds. There is of course some cultural sensitivity here, but there are some very high-profile organisations already using this system. When applied alongside MOSAIC, it provides another dimension of insight that’s particularly valuable in areas where minority populations are large enough to influence demand for particular services or activities. “Different communities can have different relationships with physical activity”
The introduction of postcodes made this especially powerful, because we could overlay our classifications onto postcodes across the country. Businesses could then attach types to individual customer records based on their address – and predict the future behaviour of new customers and prospects. For decades, these systems have helped organisations understand where different kinds of customers live and how their preferences differ – although disappointingly, the government still lags behind in embracing the qualitative nature of this analysis. Has geodemographics evolved over the years? The underlying principle of classifying neighbourhoods by the characteristics of their residents hasn’t evolved dramatically. However, two important things have changed. The first is the speed of demographic change. In the past, we might assume a town’s population would remain broadly similar over the decades. Today, many neighbourhoods change much more rapidly as people move between cities, suburbs and regions. In turn, the demographic type changes, leading to a shift in mindset and behaviours.
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STATE OF THE UK FITNESS INDUSTRY REPORT 2026
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