Capturing the Male Shopper

By Allan Pulga

The Black Friday deals on U.S. Thanksgiving weekend certainly did the trick in luring men to make early Christmas purchases on electronics.

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), although female shoppers outnumbered male (48 per cent of women, versus 37 per cent of men), men outspent women by 38 per cent that weekend. Men spent an average of $420.37, while women spent an average of $304.30.

Door-crasher sales were widespread as men filled the malls seeking bargain prices on flat-screen TVs, laptop computers and cellphones. The NRF reports that 40 per cent of men bought consumer electronics, compared to 27.5 per cent of women. Half the men (49 per cent) bought books, CDs, DVDs, videos or video games, compared to 34.1 per cent of women.

This phenemonon is not new. It’s common knowledge that the young, male demographic (aged 18-34) is the one buying the most gadgets, playing the most video games and watching the most DVDs. But are they buying the most cellphones? Not necessarily. A study by Telephia, released last September, reported that the gender split between U.S. cellular subscribers is essentially 50/50 (47 per cent male, 53 per cent female to be exact).

Still, marketers’ mouths water when they consider attracting young male customers because they are traditionally less catered to by companies and advertising agencies than women. Despite the growing contingent of male shoppers, they are more difficult to target than women, wrote Jim Stinson of the Chicago Post-Tribune.

“There are so many categories: men ages 18-34, older men, married men, single men, college students, high school schoolers, rural men, urban men and the now passé metrosexual.”

Stinson interviewed Richard Feinberg, retail management professor at Purdue University’s Center for Customer Driven Quality. “Ten years ago, only 20 per cent of men were the primary or secondary grocery shopper for households. Now that number is up to 31 per cent,” explained Feinberg.

“The number of men raised by single mothers has also gone up, meaning that men between the ages of 18 and 34 are more likely to shop, having seen their chief parent do so.”

Feinberg said young males are catching up to their female counterparts, shopping 3.6 times a week compared to women, who shop 4.1 times a week. And the way men are shopping this holiday season, it’s clear that stores are beginning to offer them the right types of deals.

Nonetheless, the electronic and entertainment vendors that typically attract male shoppers should not overlook the needs of their female customers. At the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, there was word that women needed to be treated with respect by companies peddling gadgets like digital cameras and MP3 players, reported the BBC.

“Our female customers feel a big lack of r-e-s-p-e-c-t,” admitted Dave Williams, vice-president of Research and Analysis at Best Buy.

“They are ignored, confused by pushy salesmen. If she’s disrespected, (the potential sales) go down the toilet.”

Research commissioned by CES found that half of women go shopping with a man, under the belief they would be treated better if so accompanied.

So, the moral of the story for this holiday season remains: pay attention to your male customers as they’re buying electronics like never before, but be careful to always take care of the ladies.