Women Buy Stuff Too
In the marketing section of Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal, an article, Videogame Firms Make a Play for Women discussed top video game companies realizing a “new” market. Research is showing that more girls /women playing video games, “…female game players now account for about 40% of the overall market, compared with the IDC research firm’s estimate of less than 12% in 2001.” Well, good, I thought, maybe they’ll start paying more attention to this market segment. I went on to read that video companies are talking about titles like “Little Pet Shop” for girls and workout and dance-themed games for women. Am I the only chick who admits that back in the day she liked making Laura Croft blow stuff up and use assault rifles on the bad guys? I doubt it. Although I now belong to a “casual” game club and enjoy the mindlessness of “hidden object” games on a regular basis, I like action titles, too.
What bothers me most about this is that it’s a no-brainer. Women have buying power; it’s not a new concept. I’m reminded of when I was the assistant advertising director for a paint company and the only woman in the department. I remember in a meeting when a V.P. said, in tones befitting the discovery of the Holy Grail, that women were the ones buying wallpaper in our retail stores. Really? Granted, I have a spouse who has a great eye for design, but at the risk of stereotyping, when was the last time you heard two guys discussing the merits of wall covering styles over a Bud? Things may have changed, but in the ‘80s, women were buying most of these products.
Well, I’ll stop the rant now. But I just wish the marketing research types wouldn’t present this information as ground-breaking; it often comes across as condescending. On a more hopeful note, a new book, Women Want More: How to Capture Your Share of the World’s Largest, Fastest-Growing Market, by Michael J. Silverstein and Kate Sayre looks promising. I haven’t read it yet, but the description and reviews sound like the authors “get” it. The book is based on exhaustive research involving a survey of 12,000 women. I look forward to reporting back to you on it.
This is a guest post by Nancy LaFever. You can read more from her at the Centre for Emotional Wellbeing blog.
What do you think?