While women remain the primary shopper for many households and influence the overwhelming majority of consumer purchases, new research from NIQ shows they are far from monolithic and the traditional assumptions marketers long relied on to reach them are rapidly breaking down.
In the United States, women are directly or indirectly responsible for up to $17.4 trillion – or 85% of consumer spending, according to research published last summer by Capital One. The data also reveals 89% of women claim responsibility for daily household shopping – more than twice the share of men who say the same – and that mothers account for 80% of grocery shopping in households with a spouse or partner.
These numbers make women an undeniably important consumer group for brands. They also make women’s shopping behaviors an early signal of where the broader marketplace may be headed.
But according to NIQ, increasingly diverse household structures, financial realities, life stages and personal priorities are creating what the research group calls other “micro-realities” – or highly individualized experiences that debunk the notion of a single “female consumers.” As result, marketing strategies that reduce women to narrow or siloed roles risk missing the complexity of their lives and purchase motivators.
In this episode of FoodNavigator-USA’s Soup-To-Nuts Podcast, NIQ Vice President of Consumer Life Rachel Bonsignore shares insights from the market research group’s latest report, Her Cart, Her Signal: Why Women Decide the Future of CPG, including how women navigate economic pressure, health needs and information overload – and what those behaviors reveal about broader shifts reshaping the consumer marketplace.
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How women’s evolving roles are influencing purchase behavior
While women continue to influence a remarkable share of household spending, Bonsignore argues that understanding what they buy starts with understanding what’s changing in their lives and how those shifts have a broader ripple effect across the marketplace.
“Even though we’ve seen so many shifts in the last few decades in household composition and earning and employment power – all the different roles across gender – women still remain the driver of so many household purchases,” Bonsignore said.
But how those changes impact women and their shopping behavior is an early indicator of where the market and consumers at large are headed, she explained.
For example, while women are still the primary shopper for most households, who lives in those homes is very different today than just a few decades ago. Instead of the nuclear family as the standard, many women now may shop for their parents as well as children in a multigenerational home. Or they may not have children and shop for their partners or just themselves.
Women also are living healthier, longer lives – often beyond those of men. And as such, NIQ found, they are looking for products that meet their needs as they age, including perimenopause and menopause, weight loss and other heath needs.
Many women also are grappling with more restrictive finances – not just due to the current economic situation, but because many left the workforce during the pandemic and lost earnings or were set back in their careers with their income falling behind as well.
Private label, trust and storytelling
As women navigate these trends, they are redefining “value” and what makes a purchase “worth it.” And according to Bonsignore, they tend to be more cautious and selective – which again, is an early indicator of how consumers overall are beginning to behave.
“The top definitions of value are things like quality, durability, something that makes my life easier – that kind of thing. A low price is sort of middle of the road” and not an ultimate decider of ‘value,’ Bonsignore said.
However, because women historically have had less money than men they also tend to be less financially bullish or confident – spurring many to be more selective about spending, she added.
An implication of women being more cautious shoppers is an increased openness to private label, but Bonsignore notes that brands can leverage their history and reputation to defend share and appeal particularly to women.
“We asked for the first time in a decade what makes an advertisement worth discussing,” and the elements that rose to the top were good music, a compelling story, visuals, nostalgia, clear benefits, Bonsignore said.
Notably, humor fell down the list, which Bonsignore attributed to people feeling “really serious” as they navigate challenges ranging from the economy to global tensions.
Decision-fatigue places premium on simple solutions
As women shop for increasingly diverse households and navigate more complicated landscapes, Bonsignore said many report feeling overwhelmed and suffering from decision-fatigue – which then places a premium on brands or products that deliver convenience or simpler solutions. That isn’t just limited to prep time in the kitchen, it includes streamlining marketing messaging so women understand how a product solves one of her challenges.
“A pretty stiff difference” between women and men is women prize streamlining built into products, “probably because they are the ones managing a lot more types of purchases than men,” Bonsignore said.
“There is an underlying sense of overwhelm that brands need to be aware of,” and as a result endless options, including a litany of flavors, don’t resonate with women shoppers as effectively, she explained. They also value clear communication and key information that is easy to find, she said.
Women’s health is a growth opportunity
NIQ’s research also revealed health and wellness as an emerging area of focus for women and opportunity for brands that has long been overlooked.
In particular, Bonsignore says she sees heightened need for solutions related to menopause, GLP-1s, caregiving and longevity.
“The longer you live, either the longer you have to deal with a health issue you have now or the more health issues you get,” and because women tend to live longer than men, they have more health issues that stack up over time, Bonsignore said.
Women also tend to be the caregivers in multi-generational houses, and so they are managing the health and wellness needs of more than just themselves.
Finally, because women’s health traditionally is under researched and underfunded, there are a lot of missing links for which they are looking for products and services to fill the void, she added.
Next step: Set stereotypes aside
As Bonsignore explained, the takeaway from NIQ’s research is not that brands should market more aggressively to women. Rather, it’s moving beyond stereotypes and broad demographic assumptions as a first step to more effectively connecting with all consumers.
As a first step, Bonsignore recommends brands do a gut check: “Do you feel like the brand targets you have now are a) accurate and b) are expansive enough? What are you missing? What are the gaps in how you are defining people demographically, pyschographically? What are the new occasions that you may be overlooking or different shifts in lifestyle and meal and snack patterns?”
