Women make 85% of consumer purchases!
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| Mon, 06-01-2009 - 10:33pm |
As a gender we do love to spend. Should we start to learn from men?
http://www.marketingtowomen.eu/en/2008/05/10/and-the-facts/
Tons of facts and figures related to female marketing were presented the Marketing to women conference in Chicago.
Here’s a small selection:
Women make more than 80% of all consumer related decisions
Women account for 85% of all consumer purchases including everything from cars to health care
Women represent the majority of the online market
In the US, women control $7 trillion in consumer and business spending (from The power of the purse
30,7% of women outearn their husbands (Bureau of Labor Statistics and the US census)
women owned businesses now employ more people in the US than the Fortune 500 companies combined
women purchase 90% of beauty products, 94% of apparel, 89% of home products, 81% of gifts and 51% of consumer electronics
in the US, women earn more bachelors degrees than men
in the US women spend an average of 13 hours per week online against 3 hours on magazines and 3 hours on newspapers
the amount of time women spend on portals has gone down from 42% to 29% as women have grown accustomed to the internet
women are the number one driver of worldwide economic growth; in China alone, 1.5 billion women are expected to account for $516 billon in spending power by 2014

I went with a friend of mine yesterday to buy furniture for her family room. We went to 5 different furniture stores. I was pretty shocked that not a single store would make a deal with her for CASH. All five stores were empty. In this economy, you'd think sales people would bend just a little. Nope! Not an inch.
She made the comment that if her husband had been there, they would have probably made a deal with him. So now I guess they are going to another state to see what happens.
Why would I want to spend like a man? My DH is clueless about the state of his clothing, doesn't seem to understand how to shop at various merchants for the best merchandise/best price combo; and tends to be a sucker for the latest technological toy, be it a Kindle, a Wii or a big screen TV. He buys cheap tools at Harbor Freight and is surprisingly perplexed when the tools fail. When I leave him to his own devices, there's invariably a Mother Hubbard cupboard (Lysol, sardines, and flavored almonds being the exceptions, though God only knows why that triumvirate!), the cars need maintenance, and his clothing is nearing the point of indecency.
IF other males are similarly inclined, there is small wonder at the 85% of the spending is done by women. Seems to me that the main issue isn't what gender is spending what percentage. Rather it's what that money is spent on, and whether it's spent wisely.
Jabberwocka
It seems to me that the reason the percentages of women shopper's is higher, is because women buy more stuff. If a man goes to a store for say shoes, he goes in buys shoes and that's it. Leaves the store. Where women will walk around and maybe buy shoes, towels, socks for the kids, etc.
I do a whole lot better if I just keep to my list. My brother is great at finding deals.
We knew back in the late 80's, in the car business, that if a couple walked in, you had to sell the car to the woman. Women influence the purchases if nothing else. If the woman doesen't like the car the man is going to hear about it as long as they own it.
Last week we went out to purchase another truck for our business. We walked into the dealership and I was completly ignored. We were purchasing a used vehichle, we always get them checked out by another service company. I watched them try to convince SO as to why it was unnecessary to get it checked, etc. We got it checked out anyway....Needless to say, we didn't purchase the truck, based on my perceptions and feelings. We aren't in dire need. It is not an immediate necessity. We can wait for the right thing to come along. But if they want to sell it, they are going to have to sell it to ME. I'm the one that writes the checks. I'm the one that will be taking it in for service appointments. I'm the one that will be dealing with any hassles related to it.
In our home ,my partner makes way more frivilous purchases but I make more, day to day, life of the family, purchases. When I have to leave town, he will feed himself and dd, deli sandwiches and burritos and if there is milk in the fridge when I get home its a miracle. When I did some recent training and he was home more, I would call him and ask if there was anything
"make a deal with her for CASH"
I experience this a few years ago buying a couch & arm chair. They wouldn't deal for cash but they gave me 10% discount if I opened a charge a/c which I did. Then paid it off when I received the bill.
When I 'did' my kitchen I received
ROTFLMAO!