Retailers Try to Crack Female Shoppers’ Code
By George Anderson
Women are different than men. That simple understanding has prompted some retailers in the consumer electronics business to adjust their marketing practices and in-store environments to be more inviting for female consumers.
“Guys walk around tech stores like they’re in a porno shop looking for the fastest, newest, coolest, first-on-the-block thing, while women would rather shop in a calmer, information-based environment for products that will simplify their lives,” said Mary Lou Quinlan, author of Just Ask A Woman — Cracking the Code of What Women Want and How They Buy.
A report in the Washington Post, said stores such as RadioShack have turned down the volume on music played in stores, added more color to their interiors, widened aisles, adjusted product mix and hired more female sales associates with one goal in mind – get women to spend.
“The store doesn’t feel like a men’s club anymore,” said Charles Hodges, a spokesperson for RadioShack. “Now women can walk in and be helped by women just as knowledgeable as guys.”
Women are motivated to buy gadgets for different reasons than men, said Ms. Quinlan. While guys may want to be the first with latest in technology, women often buy a product because they have a friend that has found it useful in making their lives easier or more enjoyable.
“Where men like to be the only one with a product, women like to bring more of her friends into their find — they want to share the good news of what’s working for them,” she said.
Moderator’s Comment: Are women shoppers that much different than men? How does a retailer split the difference in areas such as store design when it
has both men and women for customers? –
George Anderson – Moderator
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13 Comments on "Retailers Try to Crack Female Shoppers’ Code"
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The instant poll above is missing the correct option: the differences among men and the differences among women are both so vast that it’s meaningless to compare a “typical” woman to a “typical” man. This is the same standard answer I give whenever demographic issues arise (e.g., marketing to Hispanics vs. non-Hispanics, gays vs. straights, older vs. younger consumers, etc.).
It’s very misleading (and dangerous) to paint a stereotypical picture of the members of one group vs. another. These pictures might help sell some catchy popular-press books, but they won’t help retailers run their businesses more effectively.
The standard opening airplane conversation between two adjacent passengers who’ve never met: “Where are you going?,” Why?,” “Where are you from?,” “What do you do?,” When I worked for Lechters, if I sat next to a man, he rarely knew what Lechters was. If I sat next to a woman, she always knew it was a housewares specialty store. To say that all women shop differently than men would be an absurd stereotype, but there are definitely strong patterns for the majority.
If the quotes from Quinlan here are typical of what she says, she’s a stereotyping sexist. I agree, it may sell books, but it won’t do much of anything productive for anybody. This is a very complex issue, and if you really want to accomplish something, neither sexism nor stereotyping has a place.
The correct answer is that women and men are completely different and women and men are more similar then they are different. Can that be possible? It sure is.
In the end, however, they are both consumers. In some areas, greater and, in some areas, less dependent upon sex. However, that’s where you must be careful. It’s the consumer.
The conclusions and observations quoted are simply absurd.
There are certainly gender differences that are relevant to shopping behavior and needs, but other factors and demographics such as role and responsibility in the household, career, etc. also must be considered. For example, stay-at-home dads with primary child-rearing responsibility could have more in common around certain product categories or needs with stay-at-home moms than either group would have with single, traveling executives – male or female. Yes, stereotypes don’t help, but data-driven insights do. The consumer landscape, channel multiplicity and overlap, and other drivers have made a data-driven, fact-based understanding of the consumer critical to any retailer’s large-scale success.
Bernice is on the right track. Men and women are wired differently and react differently to various products. With electronics, men are interested in quality products that perform. Women are interested in quality products that perform and also match their shoes. That may sound sarcastic, but I think its true.
I’m a “non-techie” man who has had many of the same experiences some of the female commentators report. When I finally make the leap to HDTV, you can bet I’ll avoid Best Buy and Circuit City like the plague–I’ve had better experience with the more expensive Ultimate Electronics, so that’s where I’ll go.
I’m considering buying an Apple PowerBook laptop. I’ve visited my local Apple store three times now, and each time have felt that I didn’t belong there. That hasn’t made me reconsider, but when I actually do buy one (I’m waiting for the Intel chips), I will do it online.
A truly good sales associate can sell to either sex (or transgender), any race or ethnicity, any age, any sexual orientation, etc. Store design matters to some extent–re-read Paco Underhill–but it’s the human beings that matter more. And really good ones are rare–I sometimes think they’re born, not made.
It’s simple. Women respond to color and odor; Men respond to task and don’t mind too much color or odor to complete the task. Just decorate for women, make it smell good and then tell them they can’t have it!