The new target market “women ages 25 – 70” are designated as the market with the ultimate buying power. It is estimated 55,000,000 (yes, that’s 55 million) are making the major purchasing decisions at home and at work. What a marketplace! According to recent statistics noted at TrendSight.com, today’s woman makes 80 – 85% of the buying decisions in all homes.
Consider this – women purchase approximately 81% of all riding lawn mowers! Hard to imagine? Well, the next time you are driving through the neighborhood, look to see who is driving the power mower.
Healthcare marketers have long known that women make at least 80% of the healthcare decisions, not to mention 93% of all the over-the-counter pharmaceuticals or healthcare products. Further research reveals that women purchase on the average 94% home furnishings, 93% food, 91% new homes, 89% bank accounts, 92% vacations decisions, and 85% auto purchases. Toyota has recently taken the lead in new car sales. Their leading car purchase is the Toyota Camry. Who buys and drives Toyota Camrys? You guessed it -- women.
Women are starting businesses everyday. Women entrepreneurs have started 70% of all new US businesses in the last decade. Women Presidents and CEOs own over 40% of all businesses in America. These firms are generating $2.5 trillion in sales and employ 19.1 million people nationwide. Women are now making major purchasing decision on home office supplies, communication devices, and new information technology. To be more specific, women are the purchase decision makers for 66% of all PCs and 57% of consumer electronics.
Tom Peters, noted visionary author, pointed out several years ago that the women’s market will be “opportunity number one for the foreseeable future”. He further emphasized that “American women, by themselves, will comprise a national economy greater than Japan”.
According to Marti Barlett’s new book PrimeTime Women, “Boomer women are currently in PrimeTime (a name she coined) and are the healthiest, wealthiest, most active, educated and engaged generation of women in history”.
It is now estimated that women will acquire over 90% of the growth in US wealth between now and the year 2010. Wow!
Think about this, when you and your spouse go out to make a purchasing decision, do you both use the same criteria for making purchasing decisions? Chances are good that each of you use different criteria, sometimes criteria from two different sides of the planet!
So, what does this mean and how does this change marketing? If women are making more than 50% of the buying decision of your products and/or services, then you need to be catering, or at least considering, the criteria women use to make buying decisions.
(Statistical Information from TrendSight.com)
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