The Purchasing Power of Women

With women making up more than half of the U.S. population, controlling or influencing up to 85% of consumer spending, why are so many brands and marketing still missing the mark?

Shop some of my travel essentials / my LTK / my children’s travel book / Plannin hotel recommendations / Travel Aunties

Having begun my career in media and marketing in the early 2000s in New York City (and later onto Los Angeles and London), it always seemed obvious to me that it was an extremely limited advertising scope that couldn’t possibly reflect the realities of what women were buying, how and where. With everything moving online, there is more data than ever to prove the point - women make up more than half of the U.S. population, controlling or influencing up to 85% of consumer spending, so why are so many brands, marketing and advertising still missing the mark? Women make up nearly half of the US labor force and hold over 60% of undergraduate and graduate degrees. According to the National Women’s Business Council, women-owned businesses account for over 42% of all businesses in the United States. This economic power translates into significant purchasing power for women. In fact, women control 85% of all consumer purchases, according to Forbes. Companies that ignore diversity of the demographic risk missing out on both the substantial market potential, as well as opportunities to create new solutions (see my article on the future of FemTech & menopause - the former of which is slated to become $1.1 Trillion in market value by 2027 ). Women are not only making more purchases, but they are also making different types of purchases than in the past. Women are more likely to purchase items traditionally associated with men by advertisers - think alcohol, electronics and automobiles, which is ridiculous, but explains the many outdates ads for them. They also dominate travel decisions, but the full spectrum of type of travelers is all too often missing from the conversation (see my article Women Who Travel). In addition, women are more likely to purchase sustainable and environmentally-friendly products, American women 50+ represent over $15 Trillion dollars in purchasing power and are the healthiest, wealthiest, & most active generation in history.

By understanding the diversity of women and creating marketing and advertising campaigns that represent and resonate with them, given a common mistake is assuming that all women are the same and can be targeted with the same marketing and advertising campaigns. In reality, women are a diverse group with different interests, preferences, values, not to mention shifting age group consumer psychology. Companies that take the time to understand these differences this is yet another reasons that companies need to hire more women for their teams, or back investment in companies, to widen perspective and create more effective campaigns that resonate with women. The latest report on Women in the Workplace by Lean In and McKinsey is very illuminating in this regard, as are the frustrating statistic that women still only receive about 1.7% of all venture capital, and own only 3% of creative agencies. There is so much room for change and innovation, and we live in a world where women influence upwards of 80% of consumer spending and 60% of social media sharing. Companies can tap into this economic power and build strong relationships with female consumers, and there have been many excellent reports and polls in recent years, but we really need so many more. Here are just some tip line highlights for the American consumer:

1. Nielsen Report: For Women, It’s Past Time to Be Seen

• Female-led households in the U.S. increased 41% in the last 5 years

• Women are responsible for $31 trillion in worldwide consumer spending

• Women are savvy consumers of news, information and other media across devices. During the pandemic, local news viewership increased 48% among women. They are also growing listeners of podcasts, making up 45% of all podcast consumers and over-indexing in podcasts about family, health, the arts, true crime and more. No matter what media they’re consuming, truth, transparency and real representation matter.

2. Fancy NYC Agency survey on ‘Women over 40’ and ‘Tacking Taboos’

• 84% feel brands systematically overestimate her preoccupation with her physical appearance.

• 80% feel brands systematically underestimate her intelligence

• 64% feel brands systematically underestimate her spending power

• 80% feel brands perpetuate negative gender stereotypes

• 80% feel brands perpetuate gender inequality

• 76% feel brands play a negative role
  in the perception of women over 40

3. The rising purchasing power of women via Bankrate

• By the year 2028, women will own 75 percent of the discretionary spending

• 66 percent of consumer wealth will belong to women in the next decade

• Over 80 percent of purchases and purchase influence are made by women

  4. Women and U.S. Spending via Girl Power Marketing

• Women make up more than half of the U.S. population, and control or influence 85% of consumer spending (Source, Forbes 2019)

• Women control more than 60% of all personal wealth in the U.S. (Source: Federal Reserve, MassMutual Financial Group, BusinessWeek, Gallup)

• Women purchase over 50% of “traditional male products", including automobiles, home improvement products, and consumer electronics (Source: Andrea Learned, “Don’t Think Pink”)

  5. Travel Decision Makers per my previous post Women Who Travel

• Women account for 80% of all consumer purchases including everything from autos to health care - so it should not be a surprise that they make up the majority of travel decisions regardless of who they travel with, who pays for the trip, or where they go

• Women of all demographics and ages are fueling an explosive growth in travel industry, hence there has been a 230% increase in the number of women-only travel companies in recent years. Tour operators and travel agent research indicates that 70% of travel decisions of made by women. This statistic applies to women who are booking cruises, group travel, tours or tickets through an agent. When you add in online travel purchases, the amount rises to 92%.

• According to 68% of travel agents, most female clients taking trips in small groups are over the age of 45. Women ranging between 35-44 years old make up 26% of those traveling in groups, while 5% are between the ages of 25-34. Only 1% are between 18-24 years old. Following the same trend, the majority (81%) of solo female travel clients are over 45 years old, while only 13% are between 35-44 years old. Only 6% of solo travelers are between 25-34, and 1% are between 18-24 years old.

  There are ample resources, reports and articles out there (though we need more), and more to come, so I will endeavor to update in my media roundups and across social channels. In the meantime, let’s all do better and widen the conversation around content, marketing, advertising and product (no more ‘pink tax’, please)

  Let’s stay connected: My Website, Newsletter, Shop, Linkedin, Youtube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter