Global Survey of Nearly 15,000 Respondents Across 12 Countries Highlights Significant Dissatisfaction Among Women with Consumer Goods, Financial Services, and Health Care Offerings Available to Them
BOSTON—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. According to a new report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) released recently, 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, three-fourths of whom were women. 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,” said Beth Viner, a BCG X managing director and partner and coauthor 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.”
Health Care Organizations Have the Most Work to Do
While women worldwide report responsibility for a majority of household health care decisions (from 66% in India to 83% in Germany and France), just 41% of women respondents agree that there are sufficient services to address their specific health concerns. Ratings of medical treatment or interactions with health insurers are similarly low: 44% and 37% respectively.
To improve these issues, it is critical to understand the attributes of care that women prioritize. According to the study, they are: quality care (cited by 87% of respondents); timely appointments (82%); affordability (82%); convenient locations for service (76%); and bias-free, fair, and impartial care (76%).
Financial Institutions Must Meet Women at Specific Life Stages
Even though women are adding $5 trillion to the wealth pool every year, they experience significant gaps in how well the available products and services meet their needs. On average, women are more concerned than men about the financial impact of major life events, like debt (a difference of 9 percentage points) and planning for retirement (8 points). 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.
Women also report less confidence than men when it comes to financial skills. Among boomer respondents, women are 8 percentage points less likely than men to agree that they have the skills and knowledge to effectively manage their finances. Gen X respondents show a 5-point gap between men and women, and millennials and Gen Z respondents show a 4-point gap.
No Consumer Category Is Fully Meeting Women’s Needs Today
Consumer products drew a more favorable reaction in the survey, however, even the top-performing sectors, like grocery and personal care/beauty, drew only a 66% and 64% favorable rating among respondents.
Consumer companies have a significant opportunity to improve and better address women’s unmet needs across all studied markets. In particular, women in the US are willing to spend 15% more annually for higher-quality clothing and accessories, or up to $228 more per person each year. Similarly, they would spend 15% more for safer sports and fitness products, the equivalent to $123 more each year.
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: Organizations 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 organization 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,” said Alex Friedman, a BCG X managing director and partner, and coauthor of the report. “Success requires having women at all levels of the organization, 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.”
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