The ultra-Orthodox community is considered relatively poor, but according to data presented at an Israeli Management Center conference on sector-specific marketing, haredim have greater purchasing power than is generally assumed.
"The Israeli market
is a highly developed one and the ultra-Orthodox market hasn’t been fully tapped yet," Avi Degani of the Geocartography Institute said.
"The sector may not be financially strong, but it isn’t exactly indigent, and once a distributor learns their 'codes' he can do wonders."
According to Geocartography, there are currently 715,000 haredim living in Israel and the community doubles in numbers every 22 years, meaning that by 2020 it is likely to exceed one million.
The ultra-Orthodox community makes up 7% of Israel's adult population and 9% of its overall population, and the national-religion sector adds 10%.
The sector spends about NIS 2 billion (approx. $530 million) a year on food. They prefer big supermarket chains and are a loyal to specific brands.
The data presented at the conference suggested that the recession had little affect on haredi consumerism, which centers on food, baby and cleaning supplies.
The majority of haredim have cell phones, but they make up only 4% of cell phone users in Israel. The majority – 66% - do not own a car and while most home have a computer, they do not have a television set.
"The vast perception is that the ultra-Orthodox community is rather alien, but when you look as consumerism data you realize that they are just like everyone else," Ran Dotan of the Nielsen Market Research Group told Ynet.
"They're smart consumers and they like new things. Pegging them as a conservative society is wrong."
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