Friday, May 25, 2007
Why Gender Matters in E-Commerce Strategy
Labels: Press Releases 0 commentsWhy Gender Matters in E-Commerce Strategy
By- Michael Vorel
As a developer of e-commerce stores, we analyze a variety of factors when deciding upon an internet strategy to appeal to men or women and have broken down some interesting gender facts.. But first let me tell you about..
Excerpts From a Business Week Article – “I Am Woman, Hear Me Shop” – Feb 14, 2005
Rising female consumer power is changing the way companies design, make, and market products — and it’s about more than adding pastels.
Rising female consumer power is changing the way companies design, make, and market products — and it’s about more than adding pastels.
Who’s the Target?
It’s not free-spending teens or men 25-50. It’s women, thanks to purchasing power and decision-making authority. Working women ages of 24-54 — of whom the U.S. has some 55 million — have emerged as a potent force in the marketplace, changing the way companies design, position, and sell their products.
It’s not free-spending teens or men 25-50. It’s women, thanks to purchasing power and decision-making authority. Working women ages of 24-54 — of whom the U.S. has some 55 million — have emerged as a potent force in the marketplace, changing the way companies design, position, and sell their products.
Women earn less money than their counterparts
78 cents for every dollar a man gets. But they make more than 80% of buying decisions in all homes. And they shop differently from the way men do: Females research more extensively and are less likely to be influenced by ads. “Today’s woman is the chief purchasing agent of the family and marketers have to recognize that,” says Michael Silverstein, principal at Boston Consulting Group and author of Trading Up: The New American Luxury.
Women’s decision-making authority
Has grown in part because more households are headed by women– 27% at last count, a fourfold increase since 1950. Their buying power has grown, too. In the past three decades, men’s median income has barely budged — up just 0.6% — while women’s has soared 63%. Some 30% of working women out earn their husbands, notes Martha Barletta, author of Marketing to Women How to Understand, Reach and Increase Your Share of the World’s Largest Market Segment. And 75% of them with the title of vice-president or higher at Fortune 500 companies out earn their husbands, bringing home on average 68% of household income, according to Barletta.
Has grown in part because more households are headed by women– 27% at last count, a fourfold increase since 1950. Their buying power has grown, too. In the past three decades, men’s median income has barely budged — up just 0.6% — while women’s has soared 63%. Some 30% of working women out earn their husbands, notes Martha Barletta, author of Marketing to Women How to Understand, Reach and Increase Your Share of the World’s Largest Market Segment. And 75% of them with the title of vice-president or higher at Fortune 500 companies out earn their husbands, bringing home on average 68% of household income, according to Barletta.
More Interesting Facts on Buying Trends: (March 13, 2007 Internet Retailer)
(from BIGresearch LLC for the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association).
(from BIGresearch LLC for the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association).
The study is based on a poll of 15,287 consumers in December 2006.- More women than men search online because of print coupons (41.8% vs. 29%) and in-store promotions (29% vs. 24.5%).- 92.5% of adults said they regularly or occasionally research products online before buying them in a store. Products most often researched online before being purchased in a store include electronics (50.8%), apparel (31.9%), and appliances (27%). Men are twice as likely as women to shop for automobiles online (20.2% vs. 10.2%), though women research home products.- After searching online, 69.5% of consumers said they were most likely to share their search information about products & brands with others through in-person conversations, while 53.1% through e-mail; 50.9%, phone; and 30%, cell phone.- Among 18- to 24-year-olds, 37.5% said they were most likely to share search information through online instant messaging; 23.7%, text messaging; and 20.6%, social networking sites like MySpace.com and Facebook.com.
Ok, what does that mean to me as a potential or exisitng store owner?
We’ll it means that you need to think about your web site design & merchandise to cater to women but not to alienate men as they can be a shopper who may spend more on fewer items. Watch the trends in My Space, YouTube, Facebook and see how it relates to your customer. If you are a betting person I would bet on the female audience to bring in the sale.
We’ll it means that you need to think about your web site design & merchandise to cater to women but not to alienate men as they can be a shopper who may spend more on fewer items. Watch the trends in My Space, YouTube, Facebook and see how it relates to your customer. If you are a betting person I would bet on the female audience to bring in the sale.
