It applies the principles of geodemography to consumer household and individual data collated from a number of government and commercial sources.
The statistical development of the system was led by professor Richard Webber in association with Experian in the 1980s, and it has been regularly refreshed and reclassified since then, each based on more recent data from national censuses and other sources.
Since its initial development in the UK, the Mosaic brand name has also been used to market separate products which classify other national consumers including most of Western Europe, USA, selected Asian regions and Australia.
The initial UK version was based at the postcode level, which would cover an average of 20 properties with the same code.
Both Mosaic and Acorn have found application outside their original purpose of direct marketing, including governmental estimates and forecasts, and it is regularly employed by life insurance companies and pension funds in the UK to assess longevity for pricing and reserving.