Women are spending big bucks
Written by Shirley Lichti for The Record, June 19, 2002

Women purchase 51 per cent of all consumer electronics today. They also make almost 50 per cent of all business travel purchases and buy 80 per cent of all healthcare products.

According to a joint study by researchers at Women.com Networks, Harris Interactive and Procter & Gamble, women handle 75 per cent of the family finances and control roughly 80 per cent of family purchasing decisions.

The purchasing power of women has grown exponentially. Yet many organizations ignore this market.

My own recent car buying experiences proved to me just how true this remains in the world of automobile sales. The fact is, women account for 50 per cent of sales and influence 85 per cent of all vehicle purchases. And they are expected to account for at least 60 per cent of purchases by 2005.

Car Sales
One company that hasn't overlooked its female customers is Saturn. Ron Kraishnik, co-owner of Saturn Saab Isuzu in Kitchener, says sales to women make up 65 per cent of his dealership's new car revenues.

He offers two reasons. First, he says, "women really like the one price policy. It makes the approach to the decision very soft and hassle-free. Women have a high comfort level knowing everyone pays the same price."

The second reason, Kraishnik says, is that Saturn sales representatives are not paid a commission, but rather a flat fee on every vehicle sold, regardless of model or price. That helps them to work in the best interest of the customer.

The dealership makes special efforts to reach women by advertising in women's fitness clubs and in local bridal show publications. It also has more female sales representatives than most other dealers and has three women working on the service side of the business, one of whom is the parts team leader. All of this helps female customers to feel more comfortable and earn their trust.

Sales reps are taught not to assume that men are the decision-makers, Kraisknik says. Equal, and sometimes more, attention needs to be paid to women.

"Most decisions are made after a couple leaves the dealership, so it's important that we create a good impression, make women feel comfortable, and pay attention to what they are saying."

Another industry that has seen a dramatic increase in sales to women is home improvement.

Contrary to popular belief that home repairs are a man's world, women purchase 61 per cent of major home improvement products, which shouldn't be too surprising given that single women make up the second largest group of homebuyers after couples.

Building Supplies
Although it's a relatively new player on the Canadian retailing scene, The Building Box quickly recognized the increasing number of women among its do-it-yourself customers.

"We never forget female shoppers and are constantly targetting them," says Ramona Intine, store manager at the Cambridge location.

Part of that targetting involves making the store welcoming and friendly. Intine does this by having lots of women on board (in fact, they represent about half of all staff) and ensuring there are women in every department, including plumbing, electrical and lumber.

The Building Box recently ran a circus event, inviting the public to meet vendors and associates in a carnival-like atmosphere that was designed to be fun for the whole family.

One workshop, run by a woman, taught attendees how to build a deck. Drilling contests were held as well. All they had to do, Intine says, was to "put the drills in women's hands and show them how easy it was, and the women got really excited."

The store regularly runs seminars just for women covering diverse topics ranging from driveway sealing to putting up stud walls. "The best part of offering workshops for women is watching them participate. Women," Intine notes, "want to touch and feel things, try them out, whereas men tend to just sit back and watch."

She wasn't surprised to learn that an Amazon.com study showed power tool sales on Mother's Day 2000 equaled those on Father's Day the same year.

Intine cautions that when introducing women to power tools, it helps to start slowly with lighter tools such as powerless drills and sanders as opposed to circular saws. It's also useful to work through a complete project to show women how the tools are used.

Intine says it's a mistake not to believe that women represent sales potential. "We've taken the concept of targetting women and have grown with it. Sales are up 25 per cent over last year, and a huge part of this success is due to building awareness with women."

Motorcycles
Smart companies realise that to attract women, it's important to understand their needs.

Sandi Munro, manager of Kitchener Harley-Davidson store, says the company has done research with women who bought motorcycles to get a better understanding of why they bought the model they did and what they were looking for in a motorcycle.

The fact is, today motorcycle riding is no longer just a man's world.

According to Doug Decent, marketing director for Harley-Davidson Canada, unit sales to women now represent 11 per cent of revenues, up from two per cent in 1987. And although the company has introduced smaller, lighter models for women, it has not made the mistake of assuming it could simply make its product pink, something at least one motorcycle industry executive considered doing when first trying to attract female customers.

Four years ago, Harley-Davidson Canada ran print ads in women's magazines such as Chatelaine and Modern Woman encouraging women to move from the back of the bike to the front. "You don't take a back seat to anyone. Why start now?" the ads asked.

Decent says that although sales to women are growing, research has shown that when it comes to recreational vehicles, there is a cap in sales to women at about 15-20 per cent of total sales. Because women represent a relatively small target market for Harley-Davidson, the company is not currently running any active advertising programs for women in Canada.

So although women are becoming an ever increasingly attractive market, take heed of this important lesson. Just because women represent half of the population, doesn’t mean it will translate to half of all sales.

Do your research, start a dialogue, and above all, listen to what your female customers are saying.

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