Women as consumers

[DeviTheGaelet]

Apparently women are responsible for 85% of all sales.
she-conomy.com/facts-on-women
The average black woman spends 3 times as much on beauty products as the average woman.
Why?

For hair products I have bought stuff in Paks before because I have curly hair and am silicone free. I got told by the man behind the desk to go to Boots when I asked about sulphate free products. I think because he wouldn't know what you are asking for. The whole of paks is a Pakistani business run by only Pakistani men. They don't hire black people at all not even Pakistani women. I have been to all the places I have mentioned and am yet to meet a black Person on the shop floor or behind the counter. Most of the shop assistant don't speak English or know anything about the products. From experience the only people who know what is in store are the people behind the counter but not the ingredients or what it specifically does.
Every one who goes in there knows what they are getting or vaguely has an idea. It's a disservice that no one can actually get help in those stores if needed apart from pointing you to the direction of a hair dresser and the shelve you might be interested in.

I think they have a similar problem in America where the majority of those shops are run by South Korean men. It's their domain and they control the products and sales.

I would buy products with a black woman modelling except I worry that it'll look like appropriation.
Maybe if they knew that you can use it they might actually make it widely available. Not just designated shops that cater to a small section of society.

Really? That's quite surprising. I'm a rich white woman and I find nothing aspirational or attractive or classy about rapper style. It's your tastes they aspire too. They emulate it in their own way to suit them and showoff to show that they have made it into the white domain and are like anyone else. They can afford the things you buy. Designers design and set price according your (white middle class woman or above with disposable income) affordability or your aspiration. The rappers go for those designers who are deemed to have met the approval of white middle class white women.
One of the examples they gave was Tupperware. I can't really explain it well because I watched it a while ago. It was on Netflix called "fresh dressed".

Tupperware?
I have never owned a single item of Tupperware.

Actually I have noticed they started selling Shea Moisture in Boots and Super drug. That's an African brand. I did notice the staff in Paks are Asian. That's weird that they appear to be selling to a primarily black female market but with male Asian staff

Shea Butter and body butter seem to have appeared from nowhere in recent years.

I was given a tub of Joules body butter at least 3 years ago and at the rate I'm using it up it may well outlast me. I probably should use it on the hard skin on my heels.

Beebeeeight agree and Hermione you are right, boycotts work so well. It's been done before and will be done again.
On the politics and economics of race and hair:
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (one of Nigeria's many fantastic writers)
Good Hair film by Chris Rock

Is now a good time to admit a couple of years ago when ASOS started using black women to model a good proportion of their products, I remember thinking errrm, yeah sure but I'm not sure how that's going to look on me. Thankfully I gave my head a wobble - I don't look like a pale redhead either but I found it easier to look past white skin. So I can totally see quencher's point about unconscious 'boycott' of places that use black models. If I'd been less aware of my own bias I would have scrolled past those clothes.

Happily (?) I am now able to look past/through a black model just as vacantly as a white one. Took a little practice though which is awful to admit.

There were some articles a few years back about how Vogue et al said their sales went down when they put a black model on the cover. It's all a bit chicken and egg. As in, people need exposure to get used to difference but when cash is involved the magazines need an incentive if it's going to lose sales. Then there's the unconscious bias thing - everyone is drawn to "people like them" whether they realise it or not - this isn't only to do with skin colour / ethnicity it's everything. Sex nationality dress sense (class) etc etc.

Not sure what the answers are. If things keep improving albeit at a slow rate for women and minorities then we get more £££ and people wanting to flog stuff will react. It's very slow though.

You get the whole "pink pound" and "grey pound" thing for eg - it's that effect. The marketers take notice.

This is why everything at the moment looks so familiar to me & the 80s are "back" etc - my generation are at the peak of their spending power and also jobs and influence and you can really tell.

Well this thread was near the top!