Research Summary
Business Women Drive Consumer Purchasing
Washington, DC -- Business women are the primary decision-makers in their households fully two-thirds or more of the time when purchasing a variety of goods and services for their homes -- such as telephone services, television/cable services, and insurance policies, as well as clothing. In addition, they take the lead in selecting Internet service providers more than half of the time.
Women business owners purchase online; will pay for convenience
These findings, from a new report by the National Foundation for Women Business Owners (NFWBO), demonstrate the economic impact of working women. The report is based on a nationally-representative survey of women entrepreneurs and women employees that was sponsored by AT&T and the Principal Financial Group.
“The study also identified significant differences between the consumer practices of women business owners and women employees,” explained Lois E. Haber, CLU, ChFC, NFWBO Chair and President & CEO of Delaware Valley Financial Services, Inc. of Berwyn, Pa. “Women business owners are more likely than women employees to purchase online, invest in stocks and bonds, and pay for services that make their lives easier.”
Women business owners and women employees are both active Internet users. “Six in ten women business owners and women employees say they use the Internet with some frequency,” explained Esther Silver-Parker, President of the AT&T Foundation. “Three-fourths of business women who use the Internet are going online to gather information prior to making purchases.”
The most frequent online purchases for business women are leisure items, computer equipment, and travel reservations. One-third of women business owners and women employees who make purchases online are also conducting banking transactions and paying bills online.
“However, women business owners are more likely than women employees to make purchases online,” added AT&T’s Silver-Parker. “A 57% majority of women business owners who use the Internet have purchased products or services online, compared to only 40% of women employees.”
Andi Donaghy, assistant director for individual marketing for the Principal Financial Group, noted that, “business women are also active in the investment arena. The NFWBO survey shows that women business owners are significantly more likely than women employees to invest in stocks and bonds; nearly three-quarters (72%) of women business owners have investments in stocks, bonds or mutual funds, compared to 58% of women employees.”
Women business owners are loyal to the brands they purchase and use many of the same brands at home that they do in their businesses, according to the NFWBO survey. The vast majority (86%) of women business owners say that they use some of the same brands of products and services -- such as telecommunications services and insurance -- in both their businesses and their households, and that this is a conscious decision based on quality, convenience, discounts, and experience with the company.
“Women business owners are less likely to shop at malls, more likely to shop from catalogs, and more likely to say they want to get in and out of stores quickly than women employees,” NFWBO’s Haber explained. Forty-two percent (42%) of women business owners frequent malls compared to 59% of women employees; 30% of women business owners shop from catalogs at least once a month compared to 23% of women employees; and 67% of entrepreneurs, compared to 56% of employees, say that when they shop they want to get in and out of stores quickly.
Women business owners are also more likely to contract for house cleaning and lawn services. Forty-six percent (46%) of women entrepreneurs employ a house cleaning service, compared to only 19% of women employees. Forty-seven percent (47%) of women business owners employ a service to take care of their yard, compared to only 22% of women employees.
The Principal Financial Group’s Donaghy also noted, “Although three-quarters of all business women surveyed currently have life insurance and two-thirds have a retirement plan, less than half of women business owners and women employees have disability insurance. Since disability is an important form of protection, it is of concern to us that just 46% of women employees and 44% of women business owners currently have disability insurance.”
There are several other significant differences between women business owners and women employees in the ways in which they purchase goods and services for their households:
54% of women business owners make purchases only as they need them, compared to 40% of women employees;Only 27% of women business owners say that they “love going shopping,” compared to 38% of women employees.
Other findings from the NFWBO study include:
Eighty percent (80%) of women employees and 74% of women business owners say that they typically combine different errands or tasks in a single shopping trip.One-third of business women -- entrepreneurs and employees alike -- say that the environmental “friendliness” of a product is a major influence on their consumer purchase decisions, and one in five agree that the social responsibility of the company offering the product or service is a major influence.Neither women business owners nor women employees identified coupons and advertising as influences on purchase decisions, however both groups report that advertising is their primary source of information about the products and services they buy. Women Business Owners and working Women are the Primary Purchase Decision-Makers In Their Households Business Women Use Internet for Consumer Activity Leisure, Computer, and Travel Items Are Most Frequent Online Purchases Most Women Business Owners Use Same Products at Home as in Business, and Do So Consciously Women Business Owners are Less Likely Than Working Women to Shop in Malls, More Likely to Use Catalogs Most Women Have Life Insurance, Investments and Retirement Funds
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The report, Women Business Owners as Consumers: Transforming the Marketplace, is available for $90. (Discounts are available for NFWBO corporate partners and NAWBO members.)
The National Foundation for Women Business Owners (NFWBO) is a nonprofit research and leadership development institute. NFWBO is recognized as the premier source of information and intelligence on women business owners and their enterprises by corporations, policy makers, financial institutions and the media. Up-to-date intelligence about women business owners and their enterprises worldwide is documented in NFWBO’s original research and analysis. The Foundation is affiliated with the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO).
AT&T, a member of NFWBO’s Corporate Advisory Council and Corporate Circle, recognizes the economic impact of women-owned businesses and the need for learning more about their characteristics, challenges and contributions. AT&T is the world’s premier voice and data communications company, serving more than 90 million customers, including consumers, businesses and government. With annual revenues of more than $51 billion and some 126,000 employees, AT&T provides services to more than 280 countries and territories around the world. AT&T runs the world’s largest, most powerful long-distance network and the largest digital wireless network in North America. AT&T’s businesses are backed by the research and development capabilities of AT&T labs.
Established in 1879 and a member of the Fortune 500 and Fortune’s Most Admired Companies, the Principal Financial Group (www.principal.com) is a leading provider of a wide range of financial products and services globally to businesses and individuals including retirement and investment services, life and health insurance and mortgage banking. The Principal provides administrative services to more 401(k) plans than any other provider in the United States. Serving more than 10 million customers worldwide, the Principal Financial Group has more than US$105.8 billion in assets under management.
Methodology: This study was conducted by telephone during the month of June, 1999 using two randomly-drawn, nationally-representative samples of women business owners and women who are employed in the workforce. A total of 370 women business owners and 365 working women were interviewed. Interviews were conducted by CJ Olson Market Research of Minneapolis, MN, a woman-owned business.
The sampling error for samples of this size is 5.3%, at the 95% level of confidence. This means that, 95 times out of 100, survey results will be within 5.3% of the true population values.
Citation
Center for Women’s Business Research. “Business Women Drive Consumer Purchasing.” Research Summary. December 1, 1999. Washington, DC.