As featured in the January/February issues of The Woman's Newspapers™ "The True Power Behind the Wheel$" According to statistics garnered by Automotive Women in Road and Travel (AWRT) women are rapidly becoming a dominant force in business, automotive purchases, and business travel...and are surpassing men in the use of the Internet to manage it all.
The facts are this; women purchase more than 50% of all new vehicles, 48% of all used vehicles, influence 80% of all sales, comprise 40% of all business travelers, influence 80% of all luxury and family travel, own 38% of all US businesses contributing $1.6 trillion to the national economy, and have now reached 52% of all Internet users.
If you're a marketer or advertiser that has or had any reservations about the size, growth or trends of the women's automotive, travel, business or Internet markets, we believe these stats will help to ease your doubts. The future is clear: everyone agrees that women are fueling major changes in the automotive aftermarket. Hiring practices, consumer demographics and customer service are all reflecting the influence of female customers. Smart marketers know that catering to the woman's market means good business. • Few know that 25 percent of women responsible for maintaining their vehicles tackle light jobs like changing wipers and batteries, and checking and refilling fluids. • Women make up 65 percent of the customer base for service centers. Unfortunately, 80 percent of these customers are not satisfied with the service and repairs they receive, and 89 percent feel they are treated differently because of their gender. • Two-thirds of the women who patronize aftermarket businesses are college-educated, and 15 percent of these women hold postgraduate degrees. • Trust is by far the most important factor to the female service consumer, and convenience is secondary. • Car dealers Rank at the top of the list of those trusted least by women.
The impact of women consumers goes beyond the retail shelf. . More women are taking their vehicles in for service. "I wish that we covered women consumers more in our publications," says Kathleen Schmatz, vice president and group publisher at Babcox Publications. "The best opportunity for growth is to reach out to this demographic, as they are making buying and repair decisions, and should be part of everyday business operations." Giant oil lubricant companies, such as Quaker State Oil and Valvoline have taken the woman's after market seriously. "Our overall strategy is to target women, however we do understand the importance of educating female customers about their vehicles. We've found that technical knowledge is well received by women", says Larry Solomon, manager of consumer research for Valvoline. "We decided to use a woman for Quaker States 2000 advertising campaign”, explains Julie Diehl, vice president of national accounts for Pennzoil-Quaker State Company. "The female population has been on our company's radar screen for a longtime. When we develop promotions or advertising for any of our products, we always evaluate how those initiatives will be received by women. While women may not always be the target of what we develop, they certainly are part of the viewing audience and we want to make sure that our company programs appeal to both genders". Currently, according to one report by the American after market industry association, Jiffy Lube is testing a new design for its waiting rooms. Future stores are planned to include family friendly amenities like Internet access, CD listening stations, televisions, telephones and a toy box for kids. "One thing that we learned from our research is that anything that we do to attract female customers is readily accepted by our male customers." says Marc Graham, President of Jiffy Lube International.
Women want more information than men about the repairs that are being done. If a repair shop intimidates her, or makes her feel stupid, they have lost. The future is clear, everyone agrees that women are fueling major changes in the vehicle sales and automotive aftermarket. Hiring practices, consumer demographics and customer service are all reflecting the influence of female customers. It makes good business sense to embrace the trend and reap the benefits. With more and more companies eager to hire women, the automotive field is fast becoming a hot career track for females. THE FACTS: Women
purchase more than 50% of all new vehicles; an $83 billion dollar
market! Women spend $300 billion annually on used cars sales and maintenance, repairs and service. Female buyers are the fastest growing segment of new and used car buyers today. Female buyers spend slightly more time in the purchasing of a car than men.(17 weeks vs. 15 weeks) Female
buyers seek more advice from a n automotive authority (57%) before
buying a new car. Median age 41/college78% Median High Income $63,000. Female buyers will shop an average of 3 dealerships for best price and best treatment. Female buyers prefer reading articles on how to's, basics in buying, leasing , maintenance and repairs, safety. Female buyers place more importance on dependability, functionality and economic factors.
*Sources: American Women In Road and Travel Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association
Did you know? The combined estimated readership of our 10 area Woman’s Newspapers is 850,000 plus!
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