Lines literally stretched blocks last week as millions of consumers around the world queued up outside Apple stores eagerly waiting to get their hands on the new iPhone 5S. Many people were willing to dish out up to $800 for the new device, making it safe to say that a large number of these Apple fanatics rolling out their sleeping bags were able to afford it quite comfortably. Yet, here is the question: what is the point of using valuable time to make a purchase at a store when a product, such as the iPhone 5S, can easily be ordered …

This week we released the 2013 Ipsos Affluent Survey USA, a study that traces its heritage to the Mendelsohn Affluent Survey, which has studied Affluent lives and media habits for 37 years. The study highlights several key trends that combine to paint an encouraging picture for media and marketers interested in the Affluent population.

As the market emerges from this protracted recession, when marketers were laser-focused on maximizing the customers they had, a new priority is emerging. According to IBM's most recent survey of marketing professionals, the top marketing challenge in 2013 for almost half of the respondents is new customer acquisition. Customer retention and loyalty came in second. The fact that marketers have prioritized customer acquisition indicates that the U.S. economy is recovering, and marketers are finally shifting from CRM to acquisition mode.

Lucky me - our bedroom air conditioner died in the middle of the New York City July 2013 heat wave. It had been a great air conditioner, but when it started blowing warm air because the compressor started shutting down every three minutes, and it started making that scary high-pitched whining sound, we decided it was time to find something new.

In June, I reviewed two questions in our ongoing survey regarding the media channels advertisers and their agencies might consider using as they think about where and how to engage their target markets of higher-income adults with meaningful messages. That review generated some interesting feedback from a number of luxury marketers who asked if we could segment those insights by consumers who are planning to buy a luxury product or service in the next 12 months from those who are not. We can, and that's what this review does.