NEW ALBANY — Does it matter who we are?

According to a 2010 survey, two of the top three demographic segments in New Albany’s primary market area are defined by adults that struggle to make ends meet.

Still, some of the city’s economic leaders and lead entrepreneurs say New Albany is flush with dependable consumers.

“I don’t think it’s having a major affect on business, especially with what’s been going on downtown,” said Michael Ladd, executive director of the New Albany Urban Enterprise Zone Association, of the city’s low-income population segments.

The UEZ paid the Texas research firm Buxton $24,000 for a retail site assessment survey that was finalized last year. Buxton based its findings on a variety of consumer data, including information logged from credit and debit card purchases in the area.



Parameters of the study

The market for the survey encompasses an estimated eight-minute drive time in all directions from the intersection of Pearl and Market streets in downtown New Albany.

A sizable portion of downtown Louisville as well as the Portland neighborhood are included in the southern stretches of the market area. The study base ends just north of Interstate 265 in Floyd County and does not include Floyds Knobs.

To the east, the survey area ends shy of Green Tree Mall in Clark County, but does include all of New Albany’s city limits to the west.

According to Burton, the survey area captured 36,057 households that created a demand of $583,570,410.

A population group that represented at least 3 percent of the trade area was listed by Burton as a dominant segment. The market area of the survey showed eight dominant segments.

Research firms label population segments with different names, and the following groups were titled by Burton for New Albany.



Struggling City Centers

Representing more than 15 percent of the market area population, the city center was the top segment for New Albany.

Burton defined this segment as consisting of low-income households with primarily black residents. The unemployment rate for this segment is more than twice the national average, and high school graduation rates are poor for Struggling City Centers, according to Burton.

This population segment tends to shop at chain discount stores and very rarely invests in the stock market, the survey states.



Steadfast Conservatives

This portion of the population accounted for almost 14 percent of the market area at the time of the survey. Steadfast Conservatives totaled the second-largest group in the report.

Buxton defined this segment as “a quietly aging cluster” that is primarily middle class, white and high school educated.

Manufacturing, retail and health care are the typical employment sectors for Steadfast Conservatives, and they stretch their incomes.



Getting By

With more than 13 percent of the market area represented by this segment at the time of the survey, Getting By “stands at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder,” Buxton states in the study.

These residents — which accounted for the third-largest population group in the market area — are located in dense city neighborhoods and typically live in low-rise apartments or older row houses, according to the survey.

They are typically single-parent households defined by high unemployment and low earnings, the survey surmises.



What the numbers mean

Ladd insisted the demographics and the findings in the study aren’t necessarily a roadblock for New Albany, but actually a blueprint.

Business leaders, politicians and educators can take the data and mold their strategies to grow the city in terms of employment and commerce to conform with who makes up New Albany, Ladd continued.

“What the study is really saying is that we need a plan — to figure out what we want,” he said. “Right now, I’m not seeing the demographics holding us back.”

By density, New Albany has one of the highest concentrations of public housing units among Indiana municipalities. But the city’s businesses also have the opportunity to market to more affluent areas such as Floyds Knobs and Georgetown, Blue Sun Real Estate owner Mike Kopp said.

The survey area is slightly skewed because it doesn’t take into account the communities that surround New Albany, he continued. Downtown restaurants have been successful in part because of strong support from Louisville, Kopp said.

“There’s a lot more to Southern Indiana as far as the Louisville market is concerned than just Veterans Parkway in Clarksville,” he said.

But there are enough consumers in Southern Indiana for New Albany businesses to market to without relying on Louisville, Kopp added.

“I think Southern Indiana in general needs to realize there’s a lot more we can offer to the restaurants, retail shops and businesses in general by supporting them,” he said.



Success speaks volumes

Schmitt Furniture has been in business in New Albany for 75 years, and continues to flourish in one of the city’s most productive trade sectors. New Albany draws customers from around the region for furniture sales, but Schmitt has found its most dependable consumer base to be at home.

“We track our business, and New Albany is our biggest customer,” Schmitt Furniture President Louis Schmitt said.

The great characteristic of New Albany is that it’s a melting pot, he continued.

“There are some zones that might be a little bit challenged, but just down the street is a nice block or a nice neighborhood,” Schmitt said.

He added the business markets within a 50-mile radius of New Albany, and that Schmitt Furniture has been aided by its proximity to Louisville.

But Schmitt added there’s no place like home, and said he believes there’s support in New Albany for a wide variety of establishments.

“As long as the foot traffic and the attention and the synergy is growing in the area, New Albany will hold more” businesses, he said.



Who is it we want?

Only one of the dominant segments in the New Albany market area covered in the study was defined as an Upscale America population group. At 4.43 percent, it was the Urban Commuter Families group — the smallest of the dominant segments in the market study area.

Urban Commuter Families are defined by Buxton as a segment of families “content to live in comfortable, single-detached homes in city neighborhoods on the metro fringe.”

They are brand loyal consumers, college educated and have high rates of home ownership, according to the study.

While New Albany businesses and elected officials must learn to minister to the needs and wants of the existing population base, the city can also entice higher-income residents by touting its cultural and entertainment offerings, Ladd said.

New Albany has a rich historical background, convenient access to several malls and golf courses as well as a YMCA downtown all of which can lure segments such as Urban Commuter Families, Ladd said.

“It takes total community involvement to do all this,” he said.

Editor’s note: This is the first installment of a three-part series examining business, marketing and spending in New Albany. Read the News and Tribune on Monday and Tuesday for more on which business sectors are the most successful in New Albany, the politics of commerce and what experts say can be done to better market the city.