Gadget retailers failing to target women

Many women feel that electronics retailers do not view them as a relevant group of customers

Consumer electronics manufacturers and retailers will miss out on £600m in 2007 alone because they fail to connect with women.

The figures are revealed in research on the 'Lady Geek' released this week by advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi.

The study found that 35 per cent of female internet users would increase their spending on consumer electronics if marketers and retailers thought harder about how they approach women and offered more guidance in stores and on e-commerce sites.

Around 50 per cent of women also said that they walk out of shops and leave websites without buying anything because they are unable to find what they want.

This represents a huge opportunity for brand owners and retailers that are prepared to rethink their approach, according to the research.

Saatchi & Saatchi found that a third of women polled do not consider technology advertising relevant to them, and a similar percentage do not feel confident enough to ask questions in stores.

The majority of women also feel disillusioned that brand owners and retailers do not understand what they care about and do not view them as a relevant group of customers.

Women feel patronised by the abundance of pink objects, the research found, as many prefer a sleek and well designed object rather than one in a so-called 'feminine' colour.

Belinda Parmar, a planning director at Saatchi & Saatchi, and author of the report, said that 43 per cent of women go shopping for consumer electronics without a specific brand or product in mind.

Again, this represents a huge opportunity for retailers and brand owners to reap the financial rewards if they effectively market to this group.

"There is a real opportunity here for brands and retailers in the consumer electronics sector to target women," said Parmar.

"This group of women told us loud and clear that they do not want diamante encrusted mobile phones and baby pink DAB radios. Our aim is to get clients to think differently about how they develop, distribute and market products to women."

Elisabeth Kelan, from the Lehman Brothers Centre for Women in Business at the London Business School, added: "There are many myths and assumptions about women and technology.

"We know from academic research that many of those myths do not hold true when put under scrutiny, and that technologies are gendered by design and connotation."