The Rise of Female Consumer Power - I Am Woman, Hear Me Shop!

That's why it was good news for Dell (DELL) when Oprah's Favorite Things 2004 Shopping List included two of its products, the $199 Dell Pocket DJ and $2,199 30-inch LCD TV. In the two weeks after the episode featuring Oprah's List aired, sales of Dell's plasma TVs spiked, accounting for 70% of its units sold during the holidays.

MOTORBIKE SALES. Retailers have had to change their approach to the women's market as well. "Women do a lot of homework beforehand and aren't willing to be dazzled by the salesperson who doesn't bring any practical information," says Wendy Liebmann, president of WSL Strategic Retail and author of How America Shops. To give female shoppers the kind of information they're looking for, Best Buy (BBY) is retraining its floor sales staff to talk to women in practical terms, not in jargon or geek speak.

The increased spotlight on the female shopper is even starting before the marketing and selling phase in some cases. Computer maker X2 is coming out with lighter laptops in nontraditional colors. In 2003, contractor Barbara Kavovit, CEO of Barbara K Enterprises, launched a line of tools ergonomically designed to suit a woman's smaller hand. (And they come in blue, not pink.) "Women are defining the new value equation -- combine the practical with the esthetic," says Liebmann.

This empowered woman hasn't escaped the notice of Harley-Davidson (HDI). In November, it added a section on its Web site for female bikers, with tips on appropriate gear and how to ride safely. Harley says it was responding to the growing popularity of motorbikes among women: Sales to women grew to 10%, or 23,000, of all bikes sold in 2003 vs. just 2% in 1985.

By Pallavi Gogoi in New York
Edited by Patricia O'Connell

Page 1 2 3 4

Return to Top

Par Excellence is the respected voice amidst the chatter of other women's magazine titles. In Par Excellence top female executives share information on all the topics that their counterparts crave, including networking, executive coaching, mentoring, financial planning and financial strategies for women, fashion, technology, marketing trends, family, healthy lifestyle, success strategies, diversity & inclusion and much, much more.