Monday, May 3, 2010

AGIdeas Design Advantage - Designing for Women


"Shrink it and pink it" is the typical response to designing for women, according to Agnete Enga from Femme Den.

At the AGIdeas Business Breakfast, held in Melbourne last week, Agnete presented some pretty interesting facts. Women make 80% of all purchase decisions and have a purchasing power that represents a greater opportunity than China and India combined - yet women are considered a niche market. Additionally, in America, women have an income of approx $1 trillion, but a spending power of $2 trillion, which means she is not only spending her own money, but that of the household.

It's an interesting thing to think about in an industry (property) typically dominated by men - but who is really making the decisions? For women, the focus of their buying decisions is not the product itself, but the lifestyle it offers, whereas for men this is the opposite. For example, take the humble barbie. Men purchase a barbeque for the barbeque itself - with all the knobs, buttons and whistles. The result of the barbeque purchase is the associated lifestyle benefits - eating with friends and family and enjoying the outdoors. Women, on the other hand, primarily want the lifestyle benefits and see the barbeque as a way of getting these. It's back to the old benefits vs features argument in marketing.

So, how do we use this information in the property industry? Don't just assume she wants a bigger laundry.

Read more here.

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