Comments on: Women Buy Electronics? No Kidding?

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Sun, 15 Feb 2009 09:48:55 +0000

[...] getting at. The fact is that women initiate more than 75% of consumer electronic purchases yet one in three women believe that advertising for these products is not relevant to them: Almost one in three women do [...]

By: Mary Schmidt

Mary Schmidt — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 19:07:43 +0000

This concerns me: “A great deal of effort was spent making web pages and literature easier for women to identify with. Literally just images of them instead of all men and greater reference to the items for sale having a role for them, as well as in the family or home. Equally, a couple of images of women serving and advising customers in the shops were added.”

Was anything actually done in the stores? Are there women service people? Is it, in fact, easier for women to shop in those stores?

The way the comment from Help Desk reads, I’m concerned that – once again – a company has confused images with substance (just paint it pink and put some fuzzy-wuzzy huggy-wuggy language on the web site. Oh, and all women love kids so put some of those on there too.”)

By: Help Desk

Help Desk — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 00:45:54 +0000

Interesting post. Picked this up because our website support section has just been working with a group of local electrical shops in the UK. Your points and those made by Saatchi and Saatchi are valid, although we pursued a slightly different solution.

A great deal of effort was spent making web pages and literature easier for women to identify with. Literally just images of them instead of all men and greater reference to the items for sale having a role for them, as well as in the family or home. Equally, a couple of images of women serving and advising customers in the shops were added. The spending power and underspending of women on technology items needs addressing and so far, this approach has certainly helped. Combining this with more of the type of information content you highlighted would be a great idea.

By: Elaine

Elaine — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 23:05:59 +0000

One problem is right there in the store…if I see a “young Turk” coming at me to make a commission sale, while treating me like an idiot (!), I turn around & walk the other way. The men’s club reputation comes from reality, unfortunately.

By: Shannon

Shannon — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:21:50 +0000

Holly, I have to disagree with your assertion that the problem with technology marketing to women is techno-jargon heavy product descriptions… though I believe that both men and women could benefit from the kind of product description you reference above.

However, I do believe that retailers’ television ads like these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUgucpBa1Kk&NR=1

… that almost exclusively feature and target men certainly aren’t earning them any favor from me and I’m sure, other women. I don’t remember these type of electronics ads around Mother’s Day, do you?

I’d love to see an ad featuring an electronics-savvy woman, or even an ad with a woman helping another woman in an electronics store. Maybe then they could start to shake this men’s club reputation…