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Girl Power in Southeast Asian eCommerce: How to Attract and Retain Women Consumers

The role of Southeast Asian women in society as well as in households have changed significantly in the past few decades.

Today, women in Southeast Asia is responsible for 80% of total household shopping and known for spending 40% more time on eCommerce shops than men.

These statistics alone prove how lucrative the women consumer segment is in the region!

While there are women centric eCommerce shops such as Orami operating in the region, most online retailers offer a more generic fare!

So, the question is, how to attract and retain women online shoppers of Southeast Asia?

To answer this question, one must first understand the women consumers of Southeast Asia and why they are a crucial for any eCommerce business!

Who are the women consumers and why are they important?

Professional and educational gap between male and female consumers are narrowing at a rapid pace today.

Today’s Millennial women are college educated, tech-savvy and in most cases financially independent.

Moreover, research shows, while male consumers are more likely to spend money on themselves, female shoppers often make purchases for their households, the elderly family members and children, in addition to buy for themselves.

Today’s empowered women make most of the household purchases that exceeds the traditional categories such as a groceries and personal care, but also includes financial services, fashion appeals, electronic goods, cars etc.

Thus, it is essential for eCommerce businesses today to understand and capture this female demographic share to remain relevant as well as to make profit.

Women online shopping behavior

In order to effectively target women consumers, eCommerce businesses must have a clear idea about their shopping behavior.

Here are some key pointers for online shopping behavior of women.

  • As per a survey conducted by The Economist, 63% of Asian women browse internet for products and services once a day, among which almost 30% conduct such a search twice or more in a day.
  • Another study comparing shopping patterns of male and female consumers suggests, women prefer a more comprehensive and social shopping experience than men. They are also more likely to be influenced by social media as well as function as an influencer in their respective peer groups.
  • Women consumers are more receptive towards marketing emails, coupons, discounts etc and show tendency for impulsive shopping more than men.
  • When it comes to shopping, women are highly participated. They tend to share trends, initiate conversations, write product reviews and get influenced by the same. While men tend to shop for what they need in present, women shop for future.
  • As per a 2012-2013 survey by Pew Research Center, women’s participation in image-centric social media platforms such as Facebook (72% female, 62% male), Pinterest (25% female, 5% male) and Instagram (16% female, 10%) is higher than men. Thus, pictorial representation of products and services on these platforms is more likely to influence the purchase decision of women consumers.

How to attract women online shoppers

Keeping in mind the purchase patterns and behaviors of women consumers, here are some useful tips that can help eCommerce businesses in effectively targeting this lucrative market segment.

  • Social Media Engagement:

Engaging your women consumer base on social media has duel benefit! On one hand, online retailers and brands can leverage the power of social media influencers to capture more female customers, while on the other hand, they can turn these newly acquired customers into loyal brand advocates by offering an amazing shopping experience.

Unlike their male counterparts, female consumers tend to do more research and go through reviews (especially from their social networks) before making a purchase decision.

Thus, formulating a strong social media strategy is the corner stone for effectively targeting women consumers. Engaging target groups with influencers reviews, encouraging existing customers to submit social reviews, creating and publishing useful tutorials etc can be some great ways to attract women consumers.

  • Women Care About the Overall Shopping Experience:

Shopping is more of a recreational activity for women! Thus, the overall shopping experience matters a lot to women consumers.

While brick-and-mortar stores have been creating outstanding shopping experience for women with sales executives, beautiful shop decor, appealing music etc etc for ages, the online stores must focus on enhancing the shopping experience too.

Seamless user-experience across all devices, easy log-in option, social log-in option, one click payment option, 24/7 customer support, Live chat etc must be incorporated to enhance the overall shopping experience.

Online retailers must pay attention towards creating an amazing design as well as use high quality images for their products and services too.

  • Personalized Offers to Win Over Women Consumers:

As per the opinion of industry experts, women consumers are more likely to shop during special offers or sales.

Thus, offering personalized offers and discounts can be the most effective way of capturing their market share. 

Creating beautifully crafted marketing emails with highly personalized messaging can be a great way to capture and retain female consumers for your online shop.

Last Words

Today, women consumers play a crucial role in driving eCommerce growth in Southeast Asia.

Thus, formulating and implementing a targeted marketing strategy for them is essential to ensure a bigger profit pie for any eCommerce business.

However, while formulating a gender specific strategy refraining from using cliched stereotypes in any communication can be a wise decision for online retailers of today.

When in doubt, testing the idea with a small group of customers can give you a clear understanding of what works and what doesn’t for your women audience.