Women Ignored by Technology Marketers

Saatchi and Saatchi UK, an advertising agency within Publicis Groupe, released a study September 10 lamenting how consumer electronics retailers are missing out on $600 million by ignoring female consumers.

Highlights of the report include:

• Thirty-five per cent of female internet users polled said they would increase their spending on consumer electronics if marketers and retailers thought harder about how they approach them and offered more guidance in stores and on e-commerce sites.
  
• A staggering one in two women said they walk out of shops and leave websites without buying anything because they’re unable to find what they want.
• One third of women do not feel confident enough to ask questions in stores with one respondent describing electronics retailers as reeking of a “strong scent of man”.
  
• Almost one in three women do not consider technology advertising relevant to them and the majority of women feel disillusioned that brand owners and retailers don’t understand what they care about and don’t view them as a relevant group of customers.
• Almost one in two (43%) women go shopping for consumer electronics without a specific brand or product in mind representing a massive opportunity for retailers and brand owners to reap the financial rewards if they effectively market to this group of women.
• Only nine per cent of respondents think it’s important that their gadgets look feminine.

Opinion leaders and women consumers do not like to see "pink" gadgets and many feel "offended" and “patronised” by this approach. Instead they prefer "sleek and beautifully designed and packaged products."

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