Posted on Saturday, 9th October 2010 by Vanessa Miller
As the recession slowly recedes, small business owners are waiting…and waiting…for consumers to start spending again. Well, wait no more. There’s one market that’s ready, willing, and able to spend – and you may be surprised to find out who it is.
Young, single women without children are the hot market you need to target. According to a recently released study by Reach Advisors, a strategy and research company, single, childless women in their 20s who live in urban areas and have full-time jobs make an average of 8 percent more than men in similar situations. In fact, those in some cities, such as Atlanta and Memphis, earn 20 percent more than men.
Knowing that women with full-time jobs earn on average just 80 percent of what men do, I was surprised by Reach’s findings. But apparently, women are now more likely than men to attend college and to graduate. Currently, almost 75 percent of female high school graduates go on to college – compared to only 67 percent of boys. In college, women are 1.5 times more likely than men to graduate.
Since college graduates still earn more than those who don’t graduate from college, women are boosting their earning power at a time when more men are getting laid off (the current recession has been called a “man-cession” by some experts).
What purchases are hot for these young, single urban women?
Going home: In 2009 (not a great year for home-buying in general), single women accounted for percent of all first-time home-buyers. That means they need home furnishings, home repair, home remodeling, lawn and garden services, and insurance, among other things.
Eating right: Upscale young women are boosting sales of healthier, high-margin menu items at quick-service restaurants, Reach says. If you own a restaurant, packaged-food company or other food-related business, keep women’s health concerns in mind.
Good sports: Women have also sparked the growth of many sports. Running, for example, grew in popularity by 41 percent in the last decade; 93 percent of this growth was due to women. Catering to the special health or fitness needs and interests of younger women could be a growth area for your company, too.
Think outside the box. If women are making inroads into sports and home ownership, they’re likely branching out to buy other traditionally “manly” products and services, too. If your business caters mostly to men right now, think about ways you could expand your reach to target those with the discretionary spending – young, urban women.
Rieva Lesonsky is an Earn.com Expert Advisor! She is also CEO of GrowBiz Media, a content and consulting company that helps entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses. Follow Rieva at Twitter.com/Rieva, and visit SmallBizDaily.com to sign up for her free TrendCast reports.
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