Women say no to pink tech toys
Hardware firms getting it so wrong, survey reveals
Advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi has put down in black and white what plenty of women around here have been thinking for ages: we want technology but we don't want it coloured pink or encrusted with fake gemstones.
The company recently polled female internet users here in the UK and found that most of them believe manufacturers and retailers don't understand what they care about and don't view them as a relevant group of customers.
That's crazy - they'd rack up an extra £600m ($1.2bn) in sales if they made a better effort at winning over our hearts and purses, S&S reckons. Women already each spend £321 on personal technology every year, the survey revealed.
Wrong...
Girls, according to the S&S research, almost half of us go out to buy technology products without a specific brand or product in mind. Most of the time, we end up not spending a penny because we can't find what we're after.
The TOYboy* tells me that's true of many men too, but then they're not as bright as we are, so what can you expect?
Well, for starters, patronising and offensive attitudes, if the S&S poll is anything to go by. Blokes behind shop counters are not, it seems, particularly well versed in treating women as equals - or customers, for that matter.
One respondent said electronics retailers "reek of a strong scent of man" - unsurprising, given the average British male's unfamiliarity with soap. They hide their money under it, I'm told.
"Technology companies are in the same place the car industry was 20 years ago," said another.
...and wronger...
That extends to the products. Only nine per cent of the women S&S talked to think it's important that their gadgets look feminine. Rather a lot of ladies are completely turned off by the abundance of pink products.
What do they want to see? Sleek, beautifully designed products, the survey - shock, horror - revealed. Don't believe it? Just take a look at Ann Summers' sales figures...
*The Hardware Widow is hitched to a young, hardware geek - the Tech Obsessed Youth - who thinks he knows more about technology than she does...
COMMENTS
@ Dana W
You missed quite a few actually. Every model of the iPod until the newest Nano and the touch model has been available in some shade of pink, some less saturated than others. I know this because I have seen them in my local Apple store(dont hate me for having actually been in one). Maybe your local Apple store has sold out of pink hence the absence of them from the shelves. Apple is very trendy and therefore many colors are replaced in every generation. This mostly ensures that you will want to buy another iPod and is why Apple rules at reselling the same item, slighly improved(or maybe just a new color) to the same sogging idiot time and time again. Make sure you know before you post again, and look the fool thrice.
At first I was surprised at all these comments on colour and no mention of Dell ...
... then I remembered why.
Everyone is still waiting for them to be delivered. The official line is the delay is caused by the paint colour.
Have a look at all the lovely colours on their site. Don't - whatever you do - order one.
RE: The geeks in tech shops.
Judging from all the ones I have met in our local electricals/electronics outlets most are not 'geeks', or 'nerds', or even 'techies' - they are 'sales-staff' who just happen to be selling technology. They would be acting just the same if they were selling fruit and vegetables from a cart.
Barbara likes pink eh...?
Enough to (get her husband - the poor bloke - to) pay *extra* for it?!
Usually what I find is the gadget I want in pink and pink ONLY and the nearest non-pink equivalent is more expensive (although with slightly more features or with a better known make)
Incidentally, something I actually heard today in the T-Mobile shop...
Woman (pointing to a Samsung M300): "Eeeh! Is this available on a contract?"
Salesman: "Errr... no, it's pay as you go only, it's a very basic phone, no Bluetooth, VGA camera..."
Woman: "Awww, but it's sooo cute!"
I LOVE PNK!!!! BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!!!!
I love anything pink...but I am a true gagdget freak and it it comes it in pink I check it out. Last Christmas I wanted the new Sony Cybershot T-10 and it came in metallic pink for $100 extra...made my husband pay the $100 extra. One, it stands out and people notice, Two, I like PINK, Three, it is the same great camera but in a much better color...people say "Where did you get a PINK camera?'
I would get a PINK laptop if I needed a new laptop. I would have gotten an iphone, if it came in PINK and had a replaceable battery...how stupid is that decision! Have an AT&T 8525 and I would be happier if it was in PINK. My daughter has a PINK ipod, PINK RAZR, PINK rhinestone encrusted earbuds, PINK Nintendo DS...PINK is cool...and shows you can like good gadgets but no want to be boring like gray or black! To me the more Bling the better. Have my Dolce and Gabanna Phone in gold just to wear out for special occasions!!...Of course, it is not PINK...but shiny gold is a good alternative.
And whoever thinks gender doesn't make a difference in customer service must go to the one store that has a man who knows what he is talking about. I did have to buy my phone over the internet because I couldn't get a single store salesMAN to discuss phones with me or specs or anything technical. I think it is they don't know squat to begin with. But I do my research on everything I purchase and expect to have an intelligent conversation...but it just doesn't happen in a store. I believe they are programmed to see women and think STUPID!..I realize I am not a 20 year old hot babe anymore...so I really have nothing to offer them but a sale...but it would be nice to be given the time of day and discuss what products they have to meet your needs. It is the same with phone tech support. They are so shocked as a female you know where the START button is on the computer!!
So I love PINK, I love buying PINK things...I hope they come out with a PINK iphone...maybe I would ignore they shortcomings...probably not...but I like to buy PINK things...So I hope they keep making more PINK...but it still has to work right and be what I need!!
