LISA STONE, founder of BlogHer, with a reach of over 100 million readers every month, recently spoke at a luncheon for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) for woman entrepreneurs in Singapore.
Here are some of her revelations:
Women make over 60 percent of purchase decisions.
Women use the Internet for social media 41 percent more than men, especially for shopping, of course (BlogHer statistics). And women are the most engaged group online since 2003.
By 2030, women will make more than 80 percent of all purchase decisions, including buying cars and making travel plans.
I knew we had to have online presence, especially after listening to Lisa Stone and Ayesha Khanna of 21C and The Academy in Singapore.
For the same reasons Lisa mentioned, we put up ECHOstore’s online store almost two years ago, way ahead of many retailers in the green and fair-trade space.
Further, we joined Instagram, Twitter and Facebook more than four years ago. ECHOstore gets many of its clients from Instagram posts, Facebook, and from reposts of customers and clients.
“Even our licensees in Davao and Cebu are tech-savvy,” Jeannie Javelosa, my ECHOstore cofounder, chimes in. “They post their food, their clients post their purchases, and even what they are presently eating,” she continues.
“Most of our clients are women,” Reena Francisco, the third leg of our ECHOtrio, confirms. Many are young mothers looking for healthier choices for their kids.
ECHOstore has been the pioneer in green products, fair-trade consumables, like coffee and tea, coconut sugar and even heirloom rice.
Now, ECHOstore products can be found in our web site’s online store. “And if you do not find it there, just e-mail us or leave a message on Facebook,” Reena continues.
The web site is www.echostore.ph, and the Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are simply ECHOstore.
Women now work 24/7, too, with call centers and business-process outsourcings time schedules dictating one’s office hours away from the 9-to-5 routine.
So, when women work odd hours, they shop online in the wee hours of the morning or very late at night.
And where does one find comments and recommendations on purchases or what to buy? They go to blogs. Blogs now account for over 80 percent of purchase decisions.
Women follow other women, other mothers and other ladies who seem to find time to write about their recent purchases. These blogs become the influencers for other future purchases of a similar aggrupation.
Or it is a segment of the market that likes to go shopping online or even in brick-and-mortar stores that post their opinions in their personal blogs. Sometimes, these are not celebrities, but just plain people who have something to say about new products.
Traditional advertising may still work for many fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) but for specialty products, social media is the way to influence people with their purchases.
“I shop when I am in bed,” says a woman who shops while her husband is asleep but beside her. “I cruise or travel to many lands while in bed,” says another woman who plans her European trips while in bed with her mobile device.
Truly, women do their multitasking chores even while trying to get some shuteye. They shop, surf and, hopefully, sleep after such happy activities, like shopping for their next vacation, their next holiday or their new set of plates—all while in bed.
So, do you already have an online store? Or maybe even just a web site? Does it upload quickly? Someone says you only have five seconds to get your audience attention, and if your site does not load up, the viewer exits and moves to another site.
Check out your favorite stores online. Then you can manage your time better and leave some room for a vacation rather than spending time driving and parking in a mall or in the busy city streets.
And remember, if your target market are women, you better be online.
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Chit Juan is BPW Makati’s vice president and is also the founder of ECHOstore sustainable lifestyle. She also is on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Linked In.
She loves to write about her travels, women empowerment and coffee. You can reach her at puj@echostore.ph.
This article reflects the author’s opinion and is not the official stand of the BPW Makati. Women Stepping Up is a rotating column of members of BPW Makati and comes out twice a month. For more information on BPW Makati, visit www.womensteppingup.org.