Women as consumers

Yes, and it's all such a con. One lipstick/yoghurt/air-freshener is very much the same as another. It might fulfil a purpose, but it's not a magic key to a better life.

Marketing to mums must be easy.

Your baby needs this. You'll be a crap mum if you don't have it. It's rated by Mumsnet and What's Baby magazine. Go on. Don't you care for your baby?

That modern advertising for you! Totally out of touch what your average woman on mumsnet gives a shit about!

Buy this yogurt. It's fat free. It will make you look good.
Buy this air freshener. It will make your house smell good and your friends won't judge you.
Buy this hoover. It will make your house cleaner and your friends will notice.
Buy this make up. You will look very attractive and your friends will admire you.

What we choose to spend our money on is irrelevant

Is it? As usual in feminism, how much of that choice is made freely and how much is made to conform to societal expectations?

I think we're missing the point. Women have huge consumer spending power. Surely that's positive? Marketing people who are lastly men are getting it massively wrong and a missing opportunities to make us buy shit. What we choose to spend our money on is irrelevant.

I found the Boots advert featuring women who work over Christmas a bit annoying

I was surprised not find a thread about it

Here's your treat - a makeover

Here's a link to the make up stuff

It's so sad that people are judged by their appearance - and I do think that goes for men and women as well. Make up, heels, shoes etc.

I do believe that there are some make up adverts in women's magazines

DS and I are loving the perfume ads at the moment - he is very aware of how things are marketed

Boots being the example

I found the Boots advert featuring women who work over Christmas a bit annoying - the suggestion that they'd all be over the moon after receiving makeovers and so forth. It certainly wouldn't be my idea of a big Christmas treat!

I think the article linked to is basically telling marketeers not to forget women in their marketing - and maybe to aim marketing at women that they would not normally aim at.

Day to day purchasing decisions - who makes most of them in a couple?

Then you've got a lot of women who are single - a good market to aim at and don't assume they just want 'stereotypically' women's stuff. Think wider than that.

The other side of the coin is - all the stuff aimed at women that 'may be unnecessary' - Boots being the example and its massive range of stuff. How much is 'necessary' and how much stuff is a want,not a need?

I don't think women's clothes necessarily date more quickly than men's. Depends on what and where you buy them. Shoes possibly but even then there are universal styles which don't date. Think of the sort of flat or low heeled pumps Audrey Hepburn wore or the Quaker buckle shoe Catherine Deneuve wore in Belle de Jour (the only saving grace of that film)

Re make up, where and when was this study made? I used to wear a lot of make up when I was young but I would not have worn make up at an interview (unless my skin had a breakout) and I would not expect candidates to be made up.

Women purchase 91% of new homes???

Sounds a bit iffy.

Where do the stats come from? It's not clear form the website. I don't doubt that women do make a lot more purchasing decisions than men someone mentioned upthread it is wifework.

I'm probably stating the obvious here, but I think body confidence issues and pressure from society to look slim must partly account for women's greater share of the clothing market.

If a man puts on weight, he'll generally either buy larger clothes and forget about it, or diet back into his original wardrobe. Women are much more likely to yo-yo diet - so, put on weight and buy clothes to accommodate this; lose weight and buy clothes to celebrate the new body; repeat ad infinitum. Some women maintain separate 'fat' and 'thin' wardrobes. Shoes, handbags, haircare and cosmetics can sometimes become compulsive comfort purchases for women struggling with body image because they're not size-dependent.

The unending quest that many women endure to be, or at least look, slim is a rich mine for retailers.

Some of those statistics look questionable.

91% of New Homes
66% PCs
92% Vacations
80% Healthcare
65% New Cars
89% Bank Accounts
93% Food
93 % OTC PharmaceuticalsAmerican women spend about $5 trillion annually…

I find it hard to believe that the items bolded are not bought by couples; or if not bought as a couple that each partner buys their own.

Food is I think a bit of a red herring- if a woman is a SAHM or part time she will have more time to buy food. Planning holidays might be the same.

Purchasing healthcare obviously is largely irrelevant in the UK; and many of those who have private care make no decision about it as it's a job perk.

There are a LOT of women's magazines to avoid, aren't there

I briefly glanced at Cosmopolitan in the hairdressers this week. My mother used to buy it when I was a teenager. What a dismal rag it is these days.

lass

In general, what do you make of the statistics about spending and who's doing it?

Why are there are so many products aimed at women in shops like Boots?

Why are there so many shops selling a massive range of clothes for women?

And somehow they still keep going.

So..is that because there's such a massive choice out there that keeps changing in line with changing fashions, what's hot in women's magazines and because people comment on your appearance

I have no interest in changing fashions or what women's magazines are saying is hot this season. I have no idea what that might be.

I rarely buy from high street shops. I have about half a dozen favourite designers. They are not , other than my Hermés scarves big names like Gucci, D&G. They make interesting and quirky clothes ( or at least I think so) which have a very individual style and do not change radically from year to year. I have a jacket from a suit I spent a small fortune on when I went back after my maternity leave in 1990. It's just a beautifully tailored jacket. I have lots of clothes which are 10 and more years old. My first Hermès scarf is over 20 years old.

Or because you want to?

Absolutely because I want to.

don't buy or read any women's magazines

There are a LOT of women's magazines to avoid, aren't there.

We don't have joint accounts. Food and stuff for the house is shopped and paid for by whichever of us goes to the shops. There is no rota for this but it feels as if it divides up equally. We never do this type of domestic shopping together; it's so boring there's no need for us both to be bored.

We both spend a lot on books as the novelty of a Kindle has long worn off in preference for real books. I buy physical CDs and occasionally vinyl. He buys boxed sets of television shows I'm not interested in. We don't have Netflix or any cable tv or tv subscription service.

I spend a lot on haircuts but very little on hair products beyond a basic shampoo we both share.

I spend a lot on clothes but I always have done. Clothes are my hobby- they are far more than just something to preserve modesty or keep you warm. Some people go skiing or sailing or other sports which are expensive. I've always been interested in design. I love the V&A. Their exhibitions of couture clothing, shoes, wedding dresses and ballgown were exhibitions of beautiful articles and craftsmanship.

Maybe its because women are constantly being told they need to look better, be better, have better homes, lives etc and that usually involves buying stuff

My home is probably quite shabby. It's an old, listed property in a World Heritage site and I'm happy with that. It doesn't have to be spanking new and glittering.

I'm not sure I'm constantly told by anyone I need to look better. I don't buy or read any women's magazines and rarely watch television with adverts.

But the real point is that we're not just talking about shampoo and nail varnish. We're talking everything: tyres, diy equip, technology, everything. Which makes A LOT of marketing completely stupid and aimed at entirely the wrong people!