Retailers respond to the new order

Special Feature: The Female market

With women now accounting for the majority of CE purchases, retailers have had to change their shop floor attitude to keep their top customers on side.

As one retail analayst put it - any retailer that hasn't figured out that women matter is in trouble.

According to research carried out by the Consumer Electronics Association in the US, women's comfort level with technology is at an all-time high. And in few categories has women's influence ramped up more noticeably than in the home theatre and flat screen display markets, which are growing exponentially.

Very important factors to women when choosing a store to shop for CE products:

Big selection:51%

Helpful salespeople:46%

Easy/convenient access:39%

Well organized/clean:34%

Useful product literature:25%

Good directional signs:19%

Comfortable lighting:17%

What are the most irritating things about shopping for CE products?

Salespeople who can't help you: 74%

Pushy salespeople:70%

Lack of selection/Out of stock:66%

Crowded stores:26%

Poor product displays:23%

Store not easy to browse:18%

Loud music:16%

Other:2%

Women rank the importance of each in CE products:

Functionality51%

Durability23%

Ease-of-use21%

Style/design5%

When women intend to purchase a product, they are most likely to:

Browse before making

the purchase43%

Purchase the product and

accessories30%

Make the purchase quickly

and leave23%

None of the above2%

Women who have not made a purchase because they were ignored or treated poorly by a salesperson:

Yes:65%

No:20%

Yes, once:11%

Don?t know:4%

Source: CEA Market Research

Indeed, while women may find aesthetics and style more important than men, that doesn't mean they aren't concerned with technology. It's just that they want to understand the comprehensive benefits.

More than ever, technology companies are working to find feature sets that equally excite men and women. In the growing field of home automation, for example, men may like the science-fiction element as well as the feeling of power that comes with centrally controlling electronics all over the house. Women, however, often worry about whether such systems will be too complicated or not work well.

Of course, experts also emphasise that women?s desire for simplicity and elegance doesn't mean they want superficially enhanced products.

Women want features that help them achieve their goals whatever they are. And experts note that women often heavily research CE products before they enter the showroom in order to fully understand how they work.

Women enter retail outlets "looking for a lot of information and a confirmation of what they have learned." The problem is that salespeople sometimes fail to listen or to ask the right questions.

Part of the solution also may be for stores to hire more female sales associates.

According to consultancy Splash, women's wealth and spending power are growing exponentially (the gap between male and female salaries is closing at a faster rate in Australia than in any other country). Women are outperforming men in education and currently account for over 60% of start-up businesses.

In essence, women are three consumers in one: they are buying for themselves, their families and more and more they are buying for business.

This article has been adapted from VISION - a bi-monthly magazine of the Consumer Electronics Asssociation.