Women buying power is really important for most business, with many more women leading home economies than ever before. Women purchasing decision power is very important to many industries.
Although it is reported that In the past year, men have reported spent 28% more than their female counterparts online. Before starting any marketing or advertising campaign, it would be crucial to take a look at the women’s shopping habits and buying power to understand your target audience better.
Housing, electronics and holidays are among the top elements which women buy more
First, let’s take a quick look at the most relevant women shopping statistics:
- Women account for 81% of all purchases.
- 91% of new homes and holiday-related purchases are done by women.
- 75% of women identified themselves as the primary shoppers for their households.
- Women’s purchasing power in the United States would be somewhere between $5 trillion and $15 trillion annually.
- Women control over 60% of all personal and household wealth in the states. (Source: Federal Reserve, MassMutual Financial Group, BusinessWeek, Gallup).
- Women purchase over 50% of traditional male products, including automobiles, home improvement products, and consumer electronics. (Source: Andrea Learned, “Don’t Think Pink”).
- 93% of women admit having a major influence on what financial services that their family buys (Source: Harvard Business Review, Boston Consulting Group Survey).
- 61% of electronic purchases were either initiated by a woman or one was involved during the purchase process (Source: “Tip for Valentine’s Day: Women Want Electronics”, Laura Hubbard).
- 60% of moms believe that organic foods are better for their health. (Source: Food and Drug Administration).
- 69% of Millennial Moms learn about new products on blogs whereas 64% discover products on social platforms (Source: Influence-Central).
- Mobile shopping is dominated by men.
- According to Bridget Brenna on her book When She Buys, women make 70% of all travel decisions. (Source: Bridget Brennan, “Why She Buys”).
- 14 minutes is the average time a woman takes to make a purchase as opposed to 10 minutes for men.
# 29% of women online purchase involved clothing or fashion accessories
Statistic – Fact
# women account for 81% of all purchases
Statistic – Fact
Women purchase decision power and money expenditure account for 81% of all total purchases. Women decision making over-purchase in a household represents over 90%. And they are usually involved in most purchases related to homes, holidays.
It is really important to take women interests and decision-making processes when planning and creating both an advertising and marketing campaign as it could make a big difference in the campaign’s impact.
# 91% of new homes and holiday-related purchases are done by women
Statistic – Fact
When it comes to buying a new home and choosing a holiday destination including flights and hotels, women purchase decision increase up to 91%. Real Estate agents and home builders should take women into account when designing their next customer capture strategy for their business as it is proved that they take the most important role in the decision process of buying a new property.
# 74.9% of women identified themselves as the primary shoppers for their households
Statistic – Fact
Most women are primary shoppers or decision-makers for purchases in most homes. In around 75% of homes, women have the main purchase decision. I remember how my mom used to manage all the home finances while my dad worked, she managed the home and all the domestic finances which made her the primary decision-maker.
Women shopping power is probably the main driving force behind most markets and industries. And some like beauty, it is actually the main and only purchasing driving force.
Just in the European Union, there are 10 million more women than men
Statistic – Fact
Needless to say that Millennials rely a lot on social media and reviews before making a purchase online. 60% of millennials resort to any form of social media advice in order to make a purchasing decision. And most women believe that organic foods are better for their health. 60% of moms believe that organic foods are better for their health. (Source: Food and Drug Administration).
#93% of women admit having a major influence on what financial services that their family buys
Statistic – Fact
According to Harvard Business Review, women’s opinion over purchases have a lot of weight. They consider that 93% of women views on purchases have a substantial influence on the final decision. Once again female shopping power is very important and having a deep understanding of their purchasing triggers would give you an edge over your competitors.
# 61% of electronic purchases were either initiated by a woman or one was involved during the purchase process
Statistic – Fact
Most electronic purchases are made by women. According to Laura Hubbard, actually, 61% of all the consumer’s electronic purchases are initiated by women. This could sound a bit, as traditionally men are considered fonder of technology and gadgets than women – which it could still be true – however, women carry more weight when it comes to making the actual purchase.
# 69% of Millennial Moms use blogs to learn about new products, while 64% use other social platforms
Statistic – Fact
The way women discover products these days differs widely as they did 3 decades ago when television, word-of-mouth and print mail were major driving forces behind brand recognition.
In a digital economy, social media has become an online version of word-of-mouth and blogs and YouTube influencers have taken over a chunk of television and print advertising.
Recommendation and product storytelling have become huge recently as influencers are gaining more recognition and social shopping keeps growing.
Men shop more online than women. So if you are planning an e-commerce advertising campaign, you might want to optimize your selling channels to be more effective. Considering the chart above, if you are selling consumer electronics, tickets and computer equipment, you might plan two different campaign for your mobile e-commerce customers.
When it comes to digital content and consumer electronics and tickets, men are much more likely to purchase those items online than women. According to Statista, the only category which women outspent online men’s health and beauty.
#14 minutes is the average time a woman takes to make a purchase as opposed to 10 minutes for men.
Statistic – Fact
It seems like women take longer time on average to make a purchase. This figure is actually very revealing and crucial when planning a marketing campaign. What is this telling us? It is telling us that either men are more prompt to make faster shopping decision or just easier to convert than women.
All in all, men conversion process is shorter therefore it would be appropriate to implement fast and smooth online checkout to avoid cart abandonment, for example.
Engaging female customers
1. Customer Experience & Brand Storytelling
Customer experience is moving towards customer delightfulness. Modern female shoppers are more interested in experiences than materialistic possessions. Thanks to the internet, there is no need to go to shops anymore, we can buy almost anything from the comfort of your home. So why do consumers go to shops?
Millennial female customers are driven to shop because of their experiences. Many shops are turning into more fun and visually appealing places in order to drive and engage customers more often. Along with storytelling and in-store experiences, it is driving
2. Keep up With Pop Culture or Lose Relevance
Luxury brands know this and for the last few years, they have been making a lot of progress towards getting closer to younger generations. If you take a look at luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, you will notice that they do not appeal exclusively to rich and they have a new modern and fresh look that have gained the attention and customers from all social levels. Most younger customers today are aiming at owning a pair of Gucci loafers or Louis Vuitton Bag.
3. Positive friction is engagement
Friction in marketing has become one of the top priorities recently especially due to the fact that most brands want to reduce digital purchasing friction to a minimum. Friction refers to the amount of work a consumer’s needs to do before making a purchase, applied to a digital environment, this would refer to the number of clicks a users does before finishing a purchase or the amount of field needs to be filled to make a transaction online.
However there is such a thing as positive friction, it is what today we are calling engagement, unique and exclusive offers to your customers, personalized services and emails could be considered as an example of positive engagement. These days consumers want to feel unique and brands need to live up to those expectations.
Generating positive and personal engagement with female consumers would make your brand stand out from your competitors.
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