Despite women managing nearly $32-trillion in global spending and, according to Nielsen, being set to control 75% of discretionary spending worldwide within five years, companies are failing to meet their unique needs.
This is according to a new report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) which highlights that companies that don’t develop products and services explicitly tailored for women are leaving significant money on the table.
The research is based on a global survey by BCG X, supported by BCG’s Center for Customer Insights, of approximately 15 000 people in 12 countries, including South Africa, three-quarters of whom were women. There were 1 230 local respondents surveyed comprising of 915 women and 314 men.
The survey revealed that in key segments such as consumer goods, health care, and financial services, women do not believe that the products and services available to them readily meet their needs.
“This is a wake-up call for businesses across health care, financial services, and consumer goods,” says Beth Viner, a BCG X MD and partner, and co-author of the report. “Women drive most of the household spending, yet their needs remain significantly underserved.
“While it may come as a surprise that many women are dissatisfied with the products and services available to them, companies that take proactive steps to address these gaps have a unique opportunity to grow their business and foster stronger consumer loyalty.”
Healthcare organisations have the most work to do
While women worldwide report responsibility for a majority of household healthcare decisions, (73% in South Africa), just over half of women respondents in South Africa (61%) agree that there are sufficient services addressing their specific health needs.
Although this is 20 percentage points higher than the global average (41%), it remains low. Ratings of medical treatment or interactions with health insurers are similarly low: at 44% and 37% respectively globally.
“To improve these issues, it is critical to understand the attributes of care that women in South Africa prioritise. Our survey shows that women prioritise quality care (cited by 94% of SA respondents), timely appointments (89%) and affordability (91%),” says Regina Osih, associate director: global health at BCG Johannesburg.
Other attributes of care that South African women prioritise are convenient locations for service (87%) and bias-free, fair, and impartial care (84%).
Financial institutions must meet women at specific life stages
Even though women are adding $5 trillion to the wealth pool every year globally, they experience significant gaps in how well the available products and services meet their needs.
On average, South African women are more concerned than men about the financial impact of life events like paying for eldercare (a difference of 11 percentage points), childcare costs (10 points) and unemployment (8 points).
The global study indicates that the concerns shift with life stages: Gen Z and millennial women rank unemployment as their primary concern, while planning for retirement is higher on the list for Gen X women, and baby boomers cite elder care costs as their biggest worry. However, at most stages, women are more concerned than men about financial issues.
Locally, women also report less confidence than men when it comes to financial skills. Among boomer respondents, women are 6 percentage points less likely than men to agree that they have the skills and knowledge to effectively manage their finances, while Gen X respondents show a significant 19-point gap, and Gen Z respondents a 7-point gap between men and women.
Interestingly, women millennials are slightly more confident (1 point) than men to effectively manage their finances.
No consumer category is fully meeting women’s needs today
Globally, consumer products drew a more favourable reaction in the survey. Surprisingly, locally, there is no best-in-class consumer category meeting women’s needs today; for example, the grocery sector drew only a 66% favourable rating among women versus a 68% favourable rating among men – the business opportunity to improve is clear.
Curiously, in South Africa in the automobile category only 45% of men felt their needs were being met whilst 62% of women believed they were.
The study reveals interesting insights into the top brands that resonate similarly with both men and women across various categories.
According to the survey, South African men and women show a strong preference for the same automobile brands when it comes to satisfying their needs. Men highlighted Toyota, BMW, and Volkswagen as their top three choices, while Toyota, BMW, and Audi resonated with women.
Additionally, in the electronics and appliances, sports and fitness, and finance and banking categories, both genders show a preference for similar brands in terms of satisfying their needs, with Samsung, LG, and Defy; Nike, Adidas, and Virgin Active; and FNB, Capitec, and Absa being highlighted as the top three brands across these categories.
Defy resonated more with women (25% rating) than men (21% rating) and the same with Virgin Active (32% rating from women versus 24% from men).
While FNB was top ranked by women and men, Capitec received a more favourable rating among women (39%) than men (34%).
“The results are revealing and confirm that whilst some work has been done, consumer companies have a significant opportunity to improve and better address women’s unmet needs across all categories, with the potential for increased brand penetration and revenue gains,” says Vishakha Chopra, project lead in BCG’s Consumer Practice.
Seizing the business opportunity in women-centric products and services
The report recommends that companies concentrate on three essential elements to unlock the potential of women-centric products and services:
- Desirability: Organisations need to start by determining whether a potential new product or service is something that women want — whether it addresses some unmet functional or emotional need — using both qualitative and quantitative approaches.
- Viability: The second key element to consider is whether a product or service makes economic sense for the organisation to build and put into the market. Companies need to develop a clear business model and case for investment, including subordinate elements like cost of acquisition and retention, pricing, cost of goods, etc. to show that the new offering can succeed.
- Feasibility: After desirability and viability, companies must consider feasibility—how they can stand up the business and get a pilot into the market.
“In addition to ensuring desirability, viability, and feasibility of new businesses, brands, and products tailored to women’s needs, another critical factor is representation,” says Alex Friedman, a BCG X managing director and partner, and co-author of the report.
“Success requires having women at all levels of the organisation, especially in leadership, who bring firsthand understanding of women’s lived experiences in the category and can intrinsically understand women’s unmet needs and how to address them.”