Feminine Appeal

Designing for Female Consumers

Who doesn’t remember the “Come see the softer side of Sears” commercials? A bold move for a retailer best known for its lawnmowers and Craftsman tools, but a smart one for a company looking to get more of the most powerful and influential shoppers (i.e., women) to see Sears as a store for them too.

While the success of that campaign has been widely debated, its intentions can be applauded. With more earning their own incomes and making their own purchase decisions, women are becoming a force to be reckoned with on the retail floor. Research has shown that women’s influence over purchase decisions has increased considerably from years ago and shows no sign of stopping. This means retailers –especially those positioned in traditionally male-dominated markets- will need to get in touch with their “softer sides” to remain competitive.

Building a location that successfully appeals to the female consumer takes more than a coat of pink paint on the walls. It requires a whole new thought process that gets past the stereotypes, reconstructs the shopping experience from the woman’s perspective, and modifies the aspects of traditional store design (color, displays, layout, signage, etc.) to create a comfortable purchasing environment.

Color
Pink has long been the proverbial color of femininity, but today’s woman is ok with you getting creative with the color wheel when selecting colors for your store design. While some colors do remain distinctly feminine or masculine (pink being one of them), for the most part, colors have become more gender-neutral. Brown, for example, is typically masculine; however, women are quickly embracing the color in their clothing and homes. The trick is to incorporate color into your design to keep things from becoming too dark. Strong, heavy color pallets are viewed as being very masculine and can be intimidating for female shoppers.

Displays & Layout
When it comes to designing for the ladies, color is the most obvious starting point, but display design and layout can also be used to add a softer touch to a store. Hard edges and boxy displays are a no-go for women. Organic shapes and curves soften a display’s appearance and are more pleasing to the eye. Keeping floor displays lower in profile and limiting tall shelving to the perimeter walls or avoiding it all together also helps to create a more welcoming space.

Some retailers are going so far as to bring touches of home into their stores. Fixtures and displays with the flair of furniture can add warmth and comfort to a space –two qualities that women appreciate. This residential appeal is also crossing over into how retailers are laying out and merchandising their stores. More and more, we see displays, merchandise, and accents arranged into vignettes, creating the illusion of “rooms” within a selling area. This style of merchandising benefits the consumer by showing her how products can be used in her life and also what products and accessories compliment each other.

While vignette merchandising might be all the rage, there is a more understated aspect to store layout that may be even more appreciated by women and that’s wider aisles. They create a more open environment. They also make navigating a cart, a stroller, and even a toddler through a store a lot easier for everyone.

Signage
When entering foreign territory we all appreciate some direction. In a city, we use a map. In a store, it’s the signage that gets us to where we want/need to be. Signs should always be simple and easy-to-read (as a benefit to all customers). Product signage should also be easy to understand and not require an MIT graduate to translate.

Women tend to be more focused on the benefits of a product as opposed to features. Take digital cameras, for example. The number a megapixels doesn’t mean much to many consumers, but saying that a camera is capable of taking 8” x 10” portrait-sized pictures means a little more. Focusing your signage and graphic content on how your products can be used is another great way to speak to your female audience.

While this article explores the “more noticeable” aspects of store design, there are a ton of other tools retailers can use to appeal to their female customers. Pretty much anything can be given a feminine makeover; and with the increasing purchase power of women, now’s the perfect time to get in touch with your “softer side.”