Influential Women…and their checkbooks.
Sleek hardwood floors, comfy leather chairs designed for customer comfort, brighter lighting and modern decorative displays set out over 63,000 square feet of merchandising space are now greeting shoppers in the newly designed Canadian Tire stores that are now opening. Today, there are just as many female shoppers strolling the aisles of the iconic Canadian retailer, and it's not because they've all suddenly developed an affinity for hardware and tools. Rather, Canadian Tire, as well as other retailers of traditionally male-dominated categories, from electronics and financial services to video games, have made a play for the fairer sex. As a result, they've been able to swell their customer base, and thus, their profits, and in many cases, they are even charming men in the process.
“The style of the new store is a deliberate move to try to attract more female shoppers”, said Mark Foote, head of marketing for the hardware retailer. It replaces the old-style format that typically featured a dense display of merchandise in boxes stacked high on shelves between narrow shopping aisles. “That style”, said Foote, “tended to appeal best to the male shopper and children up to the age of 14 years. But we've never been a good enough store for mom …she's been there, but we've designed the store more around dad." According to Foote, female shoppers have traditionally represented 50 per cent of foot traffic in their stores, but only 35 per cent of consumer spending. Research conducted by the company showed women "were not inspired enough to really want to shop for some of the things we think we can sell," he said. “Three years ago, the company began its push to change those figures, looking to add 20-per-cent growth to its bottom line”, noted Foote. Attracting the female shopper proved the key to achieving that revenue target. "It all comes down to the assortment, the fixtures [and] the shelving which are just more appealing to the female shopper," explained Foote.
Canadian Tire's plan to attract more female shoppers is based on good business. Eighty-five per cent of all retail purchases are either directly or indirectly influenced by women, according to John Torella, a senior partner with J.C. Williams Group, a retail consulting firm.
So how's it working? Female shoppers now account for over 50% of transactions at Canadian Tire, and the Canadian retail chain continues to outperform the U.S., where recent third-quarter results saw the average ticket increase 6.1% to US$58.92.
"I think what Canadian Tire is finding out is what most retailers know, which is that the female is the chief purchasing officer of the home," Torella said in an interview. According to Torella, trying and succeeding to attract women shoppers is a huge challenge. Success will depend on the in-store experience -- how the merchandise is displayed.
"It's not just a rack of items. You've got to show it in use. You've got to dramatize it. You've got to romance it," Torella explained. "Women place a lot more importance on the shopping," Torella elaborated. "Men are buyers. Women are shoppers."
Target market assessment is critical to the success of a retail company. We’ve learned this year that women have a huge impact on buying and that most women are actually the decision makers in the purchasing department of the household. Finally, retailers are noticing this trend and have decided to take action and adapt their retail marketing strategies to attract these decision makers into their stores and offer them the experience they are looking for. They have learned to cater to their target market’s need, resulting in increased customer loyalty and retention. So far, this new approach seems to be working advantageously for the retail outlets….they are attracting the influential women, and their checkbooks.
Marketing Magazine 2008 http://www.marketingmag.ca/magazine/current/feature/article.jsp?content=20060508_67052_67052
Strategymag.com http://www.strategymag.com/articles/magazine/20060201/where.html?word=target&word=man%5c
The Vancouver Sun 2005 http://www.lestwarog.com/newsArticle-995.html
Sleek hardwood floors, comfy leather chairs designed for customer comfort, brighter lighting and modern decorative displays set out over 63,000 square feet of merchandising space are now greeting shoppers in the newly designed Canadian Tire stores that are now opening. Today, there are just as many female shoppers strolling the aisles of the iconic Canadian retailer, and it's not because they've all suddenly developed an affinity for hardware and tools. Rather, Canadian Tire, as well as other retailers of traditionally male-dominated categories, from electronics and financial services to video games, have made a play for the fairer sex. As a result, they've been able to swell their customer base, and thus, their profits, and in many cases, they are even charming men in the process.
“The style of the new store is a deliberate move to try to attract more female shoppers”, said Mark Foote, head of marketing for the hardware retailer. It replaces the old-style format that typically featured a dense display of merchandise in boxes stacked high on shelves between narrow shopping aisles. “That style”, said Foote, “tended to appeal best to the male shopper and children up to the age of 14 years. But we've never been a good enough store for mom …she's been there, but we've designed the store more around dad." According to Foote, female shoppers have traditionally represented 50 per cent of foot traffic in their stores, but only 35 per cent of consumer spending. Research conducted by the company showed women "were not inspired enough to really want to shop for some of the things we think we can sell," he said. “Three years ago, the company began its push to change those figures, looking to add 20-per-cent growth to its bottom line”, noted Foote. Attracting the female shopper proved the key to achieving that revenue target. "It all comes down to the assortment, the fixtures [and] the shelving which are just more appealing to the female shopper," explained Foote.
Canadian Tire's plan to attract more female shoppers is based on good business. Eighty-five per cent of all retail purchases are either directly or indirectly influenced by women, according to John Torella, a senior partner with J.C. Williams Group, a retail consulting firm.
So how's it working? Female shoppers now account for over 50% of transactions at Canadian Tire, and the Canadian retail chain continues to outperform the U.S., where recent third-quarter results saw the average ticket increase 6.1% to US$58.92.
"I think what Canadian Tire is finding out is what most retailers know, which is that the female is the chief purchasing officer of the home," Torella said in an interview. According to Torella, trying and succeeding to attract women shoppers is a huge challenge. Success will depend on the in-store experience -- how the merchandise is displayed.
"It's not just a rack of items. You've got to show it in use. You've got to dramatize it. You've got to romance it," Torella explained. "Women place a lot more importance on the shopping," Torella elaborated. "Men are buyers. Women are shoppers."
Target market assessment is critical to the success of a retail company. We’ve learned this year that women have a huge impact on buying and that most women are actually the decision makers in the purchasing department of the household. Finally, retailers are noticing this trend and have decided to take action and adapt their retail marketing strategies to attract these decision makers into their stores and offer them the experience they are looking for. They have learned to cater to their target market’s need, resulting in increased customer loyalty and retention. So far, this new approach seems to be working advantageously for the retail outlets….they are attracting the influential women, and their checkbooks.
Marketing Magazine 2008 http://www.marketingmag.ca/magazine/current/feature/article.jsp?content=20060508_67052_67052
Strategymag.com http://www.strategymag.com/articles/magazine/20060201/where.html?word=target&word=man%5c
The Vancouver Sun 2005 http://www.lestwarog.com/newsArticle-995.html
posted by KirstenPotvin at
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
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