Fast Facts

Women and Global Spending

~ Women control over $20 Trillion in world-wide spending.
Source: Muhtar Kent, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, The Coca-Cola Company, October 2010

Women and Auto

~ Women are more likely than men to drive less, have a lower fatality rate per distance driven, and to purchase smaller, safer, and more fuel-efficient cars.
Source: University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute, 2012

~ In 2011, women made up over 40% of purchasers of 14 auto brands.
Source: TrueCar.com, 2012

~ Women buy more than half of the new cars in the U.S., AND influence up to 80% of all car purchases.
~ Women also request 65% of the service work done at dealerships.
~ Women spend over $200 billion on new cars & mechanical servicing of vehicles each year.
~ 45% of all light trucks and SUVs are purchased by women.
Source: Women-Drivers.com, 2010

~ Women continue having poor experiences when trying to buy a car.
~ 3/4 of women surveyed say they feel misunderstood by car marketers.
Source: Forbes, 2010

Go Long on Women to Make More Money

~ Women will control two-thirds of the consumer wealth in the U.S. over the next decade and be the beneficiaries of the largest transference of wealth in our country's history.
(Source: Mediapost, April 9, 2013)

~ Financial services companies admit that, historically, they haven't done a great job of attracting women as customers, but with women rising fast on the income and managerial ranks, they're now paying more attention. The number of women-owned firms increased by 54% between 1997 and 2012 - that's a rate 1 1/2 times the national average.
~ In recent research by Vanguard Group's Asset Management & Advice Services Division found that women differ substantially from men in how they relate to investing. They don't want to hear about the growth or comparative performance of different funds; they want information about reaching their long-term goals, like putting a child through college.
~ Just 20% of female breadwinners said they were 'very well prepared' to make wise financial decisions, versus 45% of their male peers.
Source: New York Times, January 2013

~In the five year period between 2006 and 2011, the number of women in the US earning a greater share of income than their husbands rose from 13% to 16%.
(Source: GfK Roper Reports, 2012)

~ In 2011, women's earning power will recover from the recession far quicker than that of men.
~ Women have always made the majority of household spending decisions, but they will have even more purchasing power as they contribute more money to their households.
Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch, December 2010

~ The average American woman is expected to surpass the average American male in earnings by 2028.
Source: Nielson, 2009

Women Spread the Word

A study of 2,000 women in Canada and the U.S. showed that traditional web sites (70%) have now surpassed traditional forms of word-of-mouth (58%) as their preferred method for getting the word out about products and services.

The study also found that only 28% of women decide what products or services to buy with out looking for some kind of help.

~ 58% of women (18+) share both good and bad experiences online
~ 36% share to help others make smart purchases
~ 27% are asked to share
~ 15% share their expertise
Source: Harbinger Women and Word of Mouth Study, October 2010

Women and Sports

~ Super Bowl survey: 44% of women say they prefer ads to any other aspect of the game.
Source: Lab42 Research study, 2013

Women and Shopping Habits

~ A majority of women, 84%, create shopping lists before they go to the store.
~ More than three in four women, or 78%, consult shopping circulars when creating their shopping lists.
~ 61% of women are more likely to include an item on the their list if they're currently using the brand, 57% if they have a coupon, or 56% if they have seen the item in a store ad or circular.
Source: Integer Group and M/A/R/C Research, 2012

~ 10% of women will stop shopping at a particular retailer because of inconvenient locations, 6% due to lack of deals, and 5% because of unavailability of desired sizes
Source: BIGinsight, 2012

Women and Tech

~ Female gamers over 55 spend more time online gaming than males ages 15 to 24.
Source: Ford Motor Company and Trendwatching.com study, 2013

~ Notably, more women (33.4%) will/did use a smartphone and/or tablet device(s) to shop for and purchase back-to-school items.
~ Overall, one-half (49.0%) of female respondents - including 3-in-5 (58.6%) moms - visit social media sites at least a few times per day.
~ 44.4% of women say social media is a good way to keep up with the latest content. Other reasons include sharing content with family and friends (40.9%), sharing personal opinions or comments (26.7%) and seeing what other fans or followers are saying about the content (25.4%).
~ Staying current with the brand's latest offerings is a top reason to follow brands on social media cites, one-half (50.1%) of moms who follow brands cite this reason.
Source: Burstmedia, 2012

~ 56% of women in the US use social networking sites:
  •   58% of Facebook users are women
  •   64% of Twitter users are women
  •   82% of Pinterest users are women
Source: Mashable, 2012

~ Women in Western countries use the internet 17% more every month than their male counterparts.
Intel, Genevieve Bell, 2012

Gen Y Women have a different Life Plan

~ 96% list "being independent" as their single most important life goal
~ 87% define success as being able to shape their own future
~ Only 68% say becoming a mom is on their priority list
~ 50% say getting married is a priority
~ Just 43% ascribe much importance to getting rich
Source: Levi's survey of 1,000 Millennials, 2010

Women and Spirits

Middle-aged women account for 62% of vodka purchases made in stores. About 60% of the growth in US spirits consumption is in the vodka category;
Source: Diageo, February 2010

In the Penn Mutual 2nd Annual Worth Survey for Women, 71% of respondents characterized themselves as Independent Women:

~ Women who characterize themselves as independent are more likely to be on track with respect to paying off debt (33% vs. 19% of non-independent women), building up their savings (26% vs. 18% respectively), and guaranteeing they will maintain or enhance their lifestyle during retirement (26% vs. 17%).

~ Independent women are significantly more likely than those who do not view themselves as independent to say they are on or ahead of target for being able to save for future travel (29% vs. 18%), and save for a home remodel (20% vs. 10%). Source: Penn Mutual 2nd Annual Worth Survey for Women, 2010

Women account for 85% of all consumer purchases, including everything from autos to health care:

~ 91% of New Homes
~ 66% PCs
~ 92% Vacations
~ 80% Healthcare
~ 65% New Cars
~ 89% Bank Accounts
~ 93% Food
~ 93% OTC Pharmaceuticals
~ Women make up 58% of all total online spending.

Women process information & make purchasing decisions differently than men:

~ 59% of women feel misunderstood by food marketers
~ 66% feel misunderstood by health care marketers
~ 74% feel misunderstood by automotive marketers
~ 84% feel misunderstood by investment marketers; Source: Yankelovich Monitor
~ 91% of women in one survey said that advertisers don't understand them;
~ 70% of new businesses are started by women
Source: Greenfield Online for Arnold's Women's Insight Team

The Power of Face-To-Face

~ 95% of executives agreed that in-person meetings are both key-to successful long-term relationships and to building relationships.
~ 89% of executives agreed that face-to-face meetings are essential to "sealing the deal".
Source: Women-Drivers.com, 2010

~ 86% of attendees use face-to-face at conferences to become aware of new products, evaluate vendors for future purchase, and/or narrow their choices to preferred vendors.
~ 53% of attendees plan to buy one or more products of services as a result of what they saw at a conference.
Source: Center for Exhibition Industry Research, 2003

~ 8 out of 10 executives prefer face-to-face meetings over virtual, citing the ability to build stronger, more meaningful relationships (85%), the ability to "read" another person (77%), and greater social interaction (74%) as key benefits.
Source: Forbes Insights, 2009

~ Businesses experience on average $12.50 in increased revenue and $3.80 in new profits for every dollar invested in business travel.
~ Executives cited conference and trade show participation returns ranging from $4.00 to $5.99 per dollar invested.
Source: Oxford Economics, 2009

~ 45% of attendees develop an emotional connection with a brand after interacting with it at a conference.
Source: Exhibit Surveys, 2007

~ 63% of sales and marketing managers agree or strongly agree that conferences assist in gaining/retaining market share.
Source: Center for Exhibition Industry Research, 2009

The Power of Attendees

~ 77% of qualified attendees at conferences represent new customers.
Source: Center for Exhibition Industry Research, 2008

~ 50%: The percentage of visitors who come to conferences with buying plans for products and services.
Source: Center for Exhibition Industry Research, 2007

~ On average, 30% of conference and trade show attendees are top management personnel (vice president, director or above). At M2W®, the average is 70%.
Source: Center for Exhibition Industry Research, 2003 and PME Enterprises LLC, 2011

The average black woman spends 3 times as much on beauty products compared with the average woman.