Although men have increased their retail shopping over the years, women remain the dominant purchasers in most situations.
As recently reported by Nielsen: “Women have tremendous spending power in America today — and it’s growing. Market estimates about their total purchasing prowess varies, ranging anywhere from $5 trillion to $15 trillion annually. And the scope of that spending is notably vast. Fleishman-Hillard Inc. estimates that women will control two-thirds of the consumer wealth in the U.S. over the next decade and be the beneficiaries of the largest transference of wealth in our country’s history — compelling insight for anyone curious about who’s keeping the U.S. economy going these days. In addition to handling the bulk of the purchasing decisions for consumer goods in the U.S., they’re also likely to influence or manage many other big ticket purchases — homes, autos, appliances, furniture, etc. — not to mention a large portion of the apparel, groceries and everyday purchases.
Click the Nielsen chart to read more.
Post suggested by KCJ
Women, becoming one of the main breadwinners and also still being responsible for the house, they influence and shape the taste of their household from very early one. Marketers need to understand that and better gear their marketing strategies towards this target market.
But in a couple of years, will that role in the family dynamics change? I mean we already notice that some men now decide to stay at home to take care of the kids and such…how likely is it that men become the ones to shape taste and become the dominant grocery shoppers??
It’s not surprising to me that women do most of the shopping, however what does surprise me is that there are not better marketing strategies geared towards men. Since the article states that men are taking a more active role in the shopping world, I am surprised that marketers have not been targeting their efforts to attract males towards their product, for who knows if one day men will be the ones who frequent grocery stores more often than women.
It is no surprise to me that women so much more shopping than men. It is also not surprising that woman have a major impact on many other decisions such as home, auto, appliances, etc. I can also see how the roles are starting to change. Now, it is a lot more common to see women at work which the men stay at home. I think that plays a large role in men starting to shop more. I also think that as time goes on they will gradually catch up to the women in the amount of shopping they do.
I am surprised by the actual numbers but not by the other content of this article. I don’t think that it is necessarily a bad or good thing that women shop more than men or spend more time shopping then men. Women are a clearly defined market segment which makes it easier for marketers. However, I agree with Alex, men gravitate towards different marketing strategies than women. Generally, the least amount of time they can spend in the grocery store, the better.
I am not surprised at all that women do significantly more shopping then men. Women often notice when things are needed around the house more often than men (for example, groceries or cleaning supplies). I also think that women like shopping more than men; there have been many times when my grandpa will wait in the car or my dad will say “why do we both need to go?” Shopping for men involves a specific purpose; shopping for women is a hobby for many.
After I read this, I am not very surprise that the fact women shop more than men. In general, women taking care the house and kids more than men does, and most likely they know what they want. They are not just working most the time, the whole house needs to be taking cared with, not only just their children, there is other tasks like cleaning and cooking. besides all the house works, women always cares about their appearance, of course they would spend more time shopping on clothing also. good point by chelsea “women are a clearly defined market segment” I extremely agree.
This is not very surprising and definitely holds true within my family. I only go clothes shopping a handful amount of times a year, while my mom and sister can go shopping once every other week. If we had a lot of money, they would probably go every day, but even with money I still would not go shopping that often at all. I do not believe men will surpass the buying power of women anytime in the near future.