For most of us men, women and their spending habits is a subject safer to steer away from. But, I read this interesting blog Does your brand appeal to independent women earlier this week and was reminded about statistics on the buying power of women.
According to blogger and brand strategist, Jamie Dunham, women are indicated to be responsible for 85% of consumer purchases in the US. “They spend on cars ($22 billion which is five times more than independent men), entertainment ($20 billion), and food ($50 billion).”
About a third of all adult women belongs to a group that have more disposable income than any other segment of women, that spend more than $1 trillion a year, and own a fifth of all houses. They are over 27, not married, not living with a partner, and without children. They are called Indies. (It also reminds me of the FAB’s in the UK – Female and Buying)
It goes without saying that Indies should be a very important focus for most marketers.
Many Indies belong to the Millennial generation which we have already in previous blogs identified as a very important target market. “According to The Curve Report, a consumer trends study from NBCUniversal, Indies are more likely to set trends, connect people, like brands online, try new fashion, and post ratings and reviews. They are the heaviest users of social media, FaceTime, and smartphones.”
The wine industry should definitely take notice.
More than the Indies however, women in general is a very important target market. Locally purchases by women account for 70% of all supermarket wine sales and this is not unique to South Africa. Earlier this year Vino-venue.com discussed the subject of drinking habits of men vs women in America and concluded with: “Women choose and purchase more wine than men, often choosing wine over other beverages such as beer and spirits.”
While gender roles are being redefined all the time, many women are still responsible for grocery shopping and it makes sense for them to use the convenience and friendliness of a supermarket environment to also take care of the wine purchases. But keeping your marketing efforts towards women focused on those buying groceries, will be a serious mistake!
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