Men rival women on the shoe-shopping floor

The epitome of retail therapy and glamour - clothing and shoe shopping - long the domain of female consumers has taken a notable knock, according to Compass24. Only While 84% of women bought shoes and clothing in the last year, an almost equal 80% of men also spruced up their wardrobes!

“South Africa is arguably one of the most mobile societies in the world, in terms of demographic changes and consumer behaviour. And advertisers ignore the rise of men as a major retail force at their peril, as, on day-to-day household purchases, men and women have become egalitarian,” warns Tiaan Ras, manager: market intelligence for Ads24, Media24 Newspapers' national sales and trade marketing division.

Where perception is again notably shattered, is in the area of grocery shopping. 98-99% of all men and women surveyed personally purchased vegetables, non-perishable household items, toiletries and cosmetics, and household cleaning materials in the last year. This nugget of research gold means that men are now an equal purchasing force in a stereotypically female domain.

Ras says, “Media planners and advertisers who are serious about getting their clients maximum return on their advertising investment, need to take cognisance of this shift, and start to tailor their adverting to both the male and female consumer segments.”

In contrast, another bias which the new Compass24 data shatters is the DIY market. Typically considered a male domain, figures show that men and women have again leveled out in terms of being the PDM, when it comes to floor and wall tiles 16% of women had purchased these products in the last year, versus 15% of men; while 20% of men and 18% of women purchased DIY plumbing equipment.

Appliances, cellphones, computers, furniture, gardening, sporting good, books and stationery purchases all also experienced an equalisation in terms of male/female PDM decision makers, with no more than two or three percentage point difference between the sexes.

“It's critical when planning a media campaign to know who the consumer is, how they behave, what motivates their purchasing habits, and what media the prefer to receive their information from in order to deliver a successful advertising campaign,” says Ras.

“And even more critical is the ability to deliver the appropriate message to the identified target market. Customised information is what people want, and community newspapers have the flexibility to talk to readers in their own voice - they are very niche, targeted and relevant,” says Ras.

More revealing, and even surprising perception-busting facts about South Africa's changing consumer market can be found at www.compass24.co.za, where the whole Compass24 database can be accessed free of charge.