Who Is Wearing the Pants in the Decision Process
Women control 91 percent of homebuying or remodeling decisions. This finding from a recent Harvard University study caused Doris Perlman, founder and president of Possibilities for Design, a Denver-based home design firm, to delve more deeply into the homebuying habits of female baby boomers (women born between 1946 and 1964).
Among her observations:
This target market is looking for practicality and comfort, which translates into demand for wider hallways and stairs, living areas on the main floor, and open-air floor plans with multifunctional spaces.
Both task lighting and natural light are of major importance to compensate for declining vision that many baby boomers are starting to experience.
For aging eyesight, any marketing material in smaller than 13-point type is “retail suicide.”
Seventy-five percent of female boomers will settle for a smaller house if that’s what it takes to get high-quality products and amenities.
Women buyers are looking for strong character in home design, such as cottages with a crisp and clean look, urban enclaves with rich colors and textures, and calming and contemporary Asian influences.
Women are attuned to colors, while men do not seem to care as much. In response, the color trends of 2005-2006 included brown becoming the new black; grayed-out greens; reds coming up orange; classic colors with such new names as Wasabi, Aero Blue and Vanilla; and textural effects suggesting copper, pewter and stone.
Female baby boomers now have more time to relax, engage in social activities and explore hobbies, making “special-interest” rooms an essential feature in their home selection. “Women shop with peripheral vision: They notice everything,” Perlman said.
Women 55 and over are cyber-savvy, and use their computers for ordering and correspondence.
A very interesting study looking into the thought pattern of how to market towards the decision maker who are an every growing class of women. Men of the world watch out. Just wanted this post to be light hearted.
Your friend,
