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Viewing report
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Men and Women's Buying Habits Market Assessment
Key Note Publications Ltd, Jan 2002
The pattern of men and women's buying habits is determined primarily by underlying economic trends. The US economy has entered recession, partly as a result of the September terrorist attacks. Other economic problems are in evidence in Germany, Europe's largest economy. However, British consumer confidence, has so far remained robust. This confidence has been underpinned by high public spending filtering into the economy, and a series of base rate interest cuts. The shift away from expenditure on food and other basic `staples' has boosted spending on services, which now accounts for more than 50% of total household expenditure. The durables markets have been one of the main beneficiaries of increased disposable income. Price competitiveness, particularly in the vehicles market, has also contributed to a rise in expenditure on key durables.
It is inaccurate to suppose that both sexes benefit equally from the rise in British prosperity. Women's economic activity rate rose by 12% between 1986 and 2000 and women have benefited considerably from patterns of flexible working. However, men are still twice as likely as women to be in more lucrative full-time work and almost three times more likely to be represented in professional working categories than women. Women's earnings for full-time work are now around 82% of men's. However, women's combined earning power is still considerably lower than men's, as fewer women are working full time. Parenthood still marks a key watershed in earning power. Women are at their earnings peak in their thirties, whereas men reach this point in their forties. Despite this status quo, domesticity can no longer be regarded as a feminine quality alone. The trebling in number of single-person households between 1961 and 2000 has ensured that men are equal purchasers of major household white goods.
The car market still represents the largest consumer market in the UK. Women, however, continue to play a secondary role as car purchasers. Women now account for 41% of all drivers, but the proportion of women as new car buyers rose by only two percentage points between 1988 and 1999. Growth in the brown goods market has been more robust, accelerated by the rise in popularity of new technology such as DVD (digital versatile disc) and MP3 (music player 3) players. Men are more enthusiastic purchasers of brown goods. They are more happy to spend their higher disposable incomes on `gadgetry' and to spend higher amounts than women on products with higher specifications and quality.
Although direct sales have yet to make significant inroads in sales of brown goods, revitalised retail environments offered by some larger stores mark a new and successful attempt to capture women customers, who still do not feel well served by specialist stores.
Increased expenditure on leisure activities, such as holidays, has led to a more competitive environment for leading retailers. Consumers have higher expectations of retailing and demand more sophisticated retail formats and products. These factors have become critical in attracting increased custom from both men and women. Notable successes include Marks and Spencer's revitalised shop floors and new designer collections for women. New retail formats are also succeeding in appealing to the demand among more affluent young men for stylish designer clothing. The development of these formats is also central to the continuing success of the large supermarket chains, which now account for around 62% of total grocery sales. At one end of their range, new superstores are introducing sales of white goods and even cars. This non-food offer is particularly popular with women who favour one-stop shopping. The rapidly expanding convenience store sector at the other end of the spectrum has proved ideally suited to men's shopping habits.
The Internet came of age in UK retailing in 2001. During the year to March 2001, 51% of first-time Internet users were women, indicating that parity between the sexes in Internet shopping will soon be established. At present, there is parity in Internet shopping only in the grocery sector. In other markets, men still predominate as users. Despite women's preference for browsing in stores, men are far more likely to prefer browsing on the Internet. Women's online shopping is far more focused, perhaps because of their preference for shopping in person. Women are now at the forefront of a boom in home shopping. Although Key Note forecasts a boom in Internet and home shopping as women's online purchasing patterns converge with those of men, there is some cause for concern as to the future health of the economy. Key Note data shows that women are far less confident in their future purchasing power than men. This trend can be attributed to increased anxiety among part-time workers and greater concern amongst women regarding job security.
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