Women Make the Nation’s Most Important Purchase and Influence Decisions

 

From assorted research profiles, we were able to collect some viable data on the purchase influence power of women in the marketplace. If your programming boast women as their target demographic….here is some supportive data showing the power of women. Philip Jay LeNoble, Ph.D. CA

Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2015

According to a report from Fona International, prepared by Kit Barmann, women represent the largest market opportunity in the world, according to Forbes magazine. Globally, they control $20 trillion in annual consumer spending. In the next five years, it is expected that this number will rise to nearly $30 trillion.

 In the United States, women have enormous control, and it’s increasing. Reports range from $5-15 trillion, with Marketing Zeus citing sources that $7 trillion is contributed by women in the U.S. in consumer and business spending. Fleishman Hillard Inc. estimates that women will control two-thirds of the consumer wealth in the U.S. over the next 10 years.

Boomers led the way, attending college in large numbers, punching through the glass ceiling and demanding higher pay. So while Millennials are a focus for many marketers, when marketing to women don’t ignore the women who laid the groundwork. Marketing to women takes strategic planning that has longevity, adds a study by Forbes from Patricia Odell.

 And, from Fona, women handle the bulk of purchasing decisions for everyday items like groceries and clothing, even for those items targeted at men. 50% of products marketed to men are actually purchased by women. In addition to being responsible for most of the day-to-day purchases, women are also heading up or influential in large ticket purchases like cars, homes and appliances.

 Women’s rise in spending power is thanks to Baby Boomer women who blazed new paths and opened doors to more control and power in their lives. These defining generational facts are important to remember when marketing to this demographic.

 Boomer women were the first generation to attend college in large numbers.

• Education has brought greater influence, skills, self-confidence and expectations, all of which bring women great spending power, says the report.
• Between 1970-2004, the percent of women 25-54 with college degrees tripled.
• Women in the U.S. earned 36.8% of MBAs in 2010-2011.
• The percent of women in the workplace sky rocketed from only 6% in 1950 to nearly 30% in 2004.
• Women own 40% of all private businesses in America.
• 1.3 million women earn salaries over $100,000
• 60% of all personal wealth in the U.S. is held by women

Boomer women were able to broaden their horizons beyond the secretary, teacher and nurse careers available to their mothers. Today, these Boomer women of the workforce have made dual-income households the norm, says the report. More than 70% of Boomer couples are dual earners. Thanks to Boomer women, these two-paycheck families bring home a lot more money. Married couples account for 82% of households with income of $100,000 or more. And:

• 85% of all consumer purchases in the U.S. are made by women.
• 93% of food purchases are made by women.
• 75% of women identify themselves as the primary household shopper.
• 50% of products typically marketed to men are purchased by women.
• 80% of healthcare decisions are made by women.
• 68% of new car purchase decisions are made by women.
• 66% of PCs 92% of vacations
• 92% of vacations

According to the Harvard Business Review, women are obtaining higher education degrees at rates higher than men. It also reports that the 1 billion women in the workforce will grow to 1.2 billion in the next five years.

 Anna Shaw from Smart Design, a design and innovation company with a lab that focuses on female consumers, told Inc. magazine that companies flounder when they interpret women as smaller, softer humans. Companies need to understand her emotions, and are her values.

• 91% of women say advertisers don't understand them.
• 66% if women feel misunderstood by healthcare marketers.
• 59% of women feel misunderstood by food marketers.

 The report concludes by noting that women aged 50+ have a combined net worth of $19 trillion. Women aged 50-70 are the largest segment of female consumers and are by far the biggest spenders. Prime Timers have higher incomes, greater net worth and stronger spending than younger adults. They have the freedom and disposable income to make purchases.

Additionally, Women Represent Big STATISTICS

Women account for 85% of all consumer purchases including everything from autos to health care:

·  91% of New Homes

·  66% PCs

·  92% Vacations

·  80% Healthcare

·  65% New Cars

·  89% Bank Accounts

·  93% Food

·  93 % OTC PharmaceuticalsAmerican women spend about $5 trillion annually…
Over half the U.S. GDP

Women represent the majority of the online market

Digital Divas By The Numbers
• 22% shop online at least once a day
• 92% pass along information about deals or finds to others
• 171: average number of contacts in their e-mail or mobile lists
• 76% want to be part of a special or select panel
• 58% would toss a TV if they had to get rid of one digital device (only 11% would ditch their laptops)
• 51% are moms
Source: Mindshare/Ogilvy & Mather

Women process information and make purchasing decisions differently than men:

·  59% of women feel misunderstood by food marketers;

·  66% feel misunderstood by health care marketers;

·  74% feel misunderstood by automotive marketers;

·  84% feel misunderstood by investment marketers

·  91% of women in one survey said that advertisers don’t understand them

·  70% of new businesses are started by women

·  The average black woman spends 3 times as much on beauty products compared with the average woman

·  Women influence $90 billion dollars worth of consumer electronic purchases in 2007

·  61% of women influence household consumer electronic buying decisions

·  Nearly 50% of women say they want more green choices

·  37% are more likely to pay attention to brands that are committed to environmental causes.

·  25% of all products in a woman’s shopping cart nowadays are environmentally friendly.When women are aware you support women owned businesses

·  79% would try your product or service

·  80% would solidify their brand loyalty

·  51% would give a company a second chance if a product or service missed the mark the first time

·  Women make more than 80% of all consumer purchasing decisions

·  Consulting firm A.T. Kearney estimates that women determine 80% of consumption, purchase 60% of all cars and own 40% of all stocks

·  57% of women gardened within the last year

·  55% of women spent time reading literature within the last year

·  Single women are becoming a more influential category versus 10 years ago

·  In 1998, only 69% of women between 18 and 24 were involved in home electronics purchases. By 2008, that number has grown to 91%, in part driven by the prevalence of personal electronics such as cell phones and computers

·  Over the past 10 years, the number of women 25-34 who were single or living with a significant other increased 8% to 38%

·  And they are more educated: the percentage of women who had an undergraduate or graduate degree increased, from 28% to 41%, over those 10 years.

·  She’s Got Game! Women And Sports: WOMEN MAKE UP:

• 47.2 % of major league soccer fans
• 46.5% of MLB fans
• 43.2% of NFL fans
• 40.8% of fans at NHL games
• 37% of NBA fans
• Women purchase 46% of official NFL merchandise
• Women spent 80% of all sport apparel dollars and controlled 60% of all money spent on men’s clothing
• Women comprise about one-third (34%) of the adult audience for ESPN sport event programs

In older groups, women make up a larger percentage of the audience:

·  31% are women 18-34

·  32 % are women 35-54

·  40% are women 55+

Women in Motorsports

·  74% of male respondents and 62% of female respondents agreed that “women racers bring fans out to the games.”

·  40% of female respondents and 21% of male respondents stated that they would be “more” or “much more” likely to follow motorsport races if more females were involved.

·  40% of the 6.6 million people attending Winston Cup races each year are women.....

 

You go ladies!!!