The Future is Women Pt 1

Happy International Women’s Day

In the past, we idealized the notion that Women are the next global emerging market. That is in the past, today, they are the economy. And we have numbers to prove it.

The economic power of Women is truly revolutionary, representing the largest market opportunity for you in the current world. Women control a huge portion of sales revenue, and in some cases they influence approximately 100% of all household consumption.  Women control 65 percent of global spending and more than 80 percent of U.S. spending. In Kenya and Sub Saharan Africa, although the gender equality is still low but growing, women influence almost 100% of all purchases. In both emerging markets and developed nations, women’s power of influence extends well beyond the traditional roles of family and education to government, business, and the environment.

Women control more than 80 percent of all spending.

And this is just the start of a sweeping change. Marketing and sales executives know where to get their numbers right, and you don’t want to be left without the piece of the pie. Women around the globe have more control over their life choices and path than ever before. In emerging markets, women are entering the workforce at lightning speed. With access to more choices, they are delaying marriage to increase their educational and career opportunities.

Even in Kenya, you have already seen that unless an advert is geared towards women, it is a fail. Even formerly male dominated fields such as electronics and automotive, are starting to redirect their design and messaging at women. For the most part, though, the average female consumer still feels under-represented and misunderstood, and her power and influence is woefully under acknowledged–or just plain ignored–by most service and product companies. She may be buying, but for the most part, she’s not getting the experiences she wants.

Crystal Perk analyses market trends and markets the experience of consumption more than the productization of the sales. Anyone can sell, but not everyone can give the consumer the right experience that keeps them coming back as loyal customers. The businesses that spend the time and resources to engage and understand this female consumer will claim those revenues and create a win-win situation with a long-term and loyal consumer.

Who is She?  How can you attract her attention? Let’s discuss this in our part 2 of this discussion.