By Bupesh Jain, 10 September 2007 14:40
NEWS
Gadget retailers and manufacturers are missing out on £600m a year because they fail to connect with the female market.
One in three female internet users polled by advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi said they would increase their spending on consumer electronics if retailers thought harder about how they approach them and offered more guidance in stores and on ecommerce sites.
Almost one in three of the 750 female internet users surveyed do not consider technology advertising relevant to them and the majority of women feel disillusioned that brand owners and retailers dont understand what they care about and dont view them as a relevant group of customers.
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".
Saatchi & Saatchi planning director Belinda Parmar said: "This group of women told us loud and clear that they do not want diamante encrusted mobile phones and baby pink DAB radios."
Only nine per cent of respondents thought it was important that their gadgets look feminine and others said they felt "patronised" and "offended" by the abundance of pink products available at the expense of the sleek products they want to see.
Comments
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1. Sarah
It is no wonder many women find it difficult to ask for assistance while shopping for technology when the sales advisers (a large percentage of whom are male) either have condescending attitude or lack the knowledge themselves.
But the thing that I find the most patronizing is when I ask a question about a piece of equipment and the response is directed to my male companion.
2. Dr Mark Hosey
Boys like to talk to boys cos they know the male stuff other guys are into. Girls like to talk to girls for the same reason. It's no surprise to me that boys will answer a girls question to the accompanying males face. I used to get the same thing when I went into mother care with my wife. I'd ask a question and my wife would get the reply! It cuts both ways.
The problem is, girls in general just arn't that interested in techie type stuff. They are as welcome to read techie type publications as any male, it's just that I get the impression girls, in general, are more interested in the look of a thing and not so much the functionality. Sadly though, guys are going the same way.........
3. David Fletcher
Sarah,
Why do you find it necessary to take along a male companion? If you left him at home or parked him at the nearest bar while you do your shopping he'd be far more happy and the sales assistant would have nobody but you to make eye contact with.
I always get annoyed by the attitude that women somehow need special treatment in these situations because they are women. Anybody who is purchasing a technical item will need to read the manual at home to understand how to operate it. Therefore they can comprehend the written word and can find out for themselves everything they need to know about items of interest, either from the Internet or by reading the relevant magazines. Which means that the purchaser should know exactly what She wants before ever going into a shop. All the sales assistant then needs to do is provide Her with a quick "Test drive" of the item, scan the bar code, smile and say "Thank you" as She enters Her PIN into the payment terminal.
Knowledge is power. Get some and take control.
4. Cassandra
Once you are home it is too late - I want an overview of the key sales points before I buy anything - and the script must not be directed to impress a bloke and I am never going to be sold an item because it is pink or girly - and why the condescending nonsense anyway - are wrong assumptions not irritating - even for a guy?
I don't want to read about electronic gadgets in shiny mags where jargon rules - I want something more like Which and price/feature comparisons.