Don't Forget Men

Men hate to shop -- or so goes the stereotype. But does that still hold true today? Has the focus been on wooing women for so long that marketers and retailers have created environments that alienate almost half of the adult U.S. population?With males increasingly accepting the role of retail decision-maker, experts say this demographic can no longer be ignored.Citing MRI data, Nivea for Men's director of brand marketing Joe Venezia says in 1985, only 14.3% of households reported men as the primary shopper. In 2009, that number has grown to 31.2%. "While women are still the primary shoppers," he says, "there is growing importance around the male shopper." Packaged Facts, Rockville, Md., even called men younger than 35 "serious shoppers" in its 2007 "The U.S. Men's Market" report. And while married men, particularly those with children, compose the dominant segment in the men's market, the report noted that single men -- never marrieds, divorced and separated -- will become a more prominent piece.Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble found that more than 60% of men are doing some level of grocery shopping, says Anne Westbrook, male grooming external relations. But, she adds, more than 25% of men claim they left a store without making a purchase because it took too much time or was too difficult.Retail brand consultant Lee Peterson thinks grocery stores -- many trying to innovate to compete with the likes of Whole Foods -- will be even less enticing to men with their soft lighting and color-palette renovations. "[Many] stores are designed for women," says the EVP, creative services, WD Partners, Dublin, Ohio. "It's subliminal to men to stay home."Armin Brott, Oakland, Calif.-based author and consultant, agrees that men find many in-store environments to be irrelevant and slightly alienating. Yet, he notes that men account for more of the family spending and says the trend is only going to increase. The recession, in which men make up the majority of the unemployed, has forced even more of them to go out and shop. Figuring These Guys OutWhile some brands say they are investing significant time in understanding male consumers, Brott finds that the shopper segments aren't clearly defined. "Maybe there are a couple of categories -- NASCAR, beer drinking, metro, maybe a nerdy guy -- but the subtext is still someone who needs his hand held through the process and is not taken seriously. They are caricatures of men," he says. Brott mentions some work he did with Pampers in which moms were placed into four specific categories. "Similar market research and segmentation should be done with men."Nivea for Men, Wilton, Conn., is doing just that. Its parent company, Beiersdorf, interviewed 1,000 men and identified six segments -- minimalist, masculine, adjuster, convenience, appearance and ambitious family man -- each with specific attitudes toward skin care that drive both purchase behavior and media consumption. Qualitative discussions, product testing and advertising testing are some of the market research approaches the company uses to connect with males and understand their needs.At P&G, observational research, interviews and shop-alongs are used to better understand this demographic. "Contrary to popular belief, not all men are the same. They look for different product benefits depending on lifestyle, life events and life stage," Westbrook says."Life stage is a very common segmentation for a retailer," adds Nicolle Scavuzzo, director of client services at Precima, a retail analytics firm in Toronto. "Now with gender split out, a retailer can identify the behavioral differences of a young single male vs. a family-with-kids male." WD Partners' Peterson agrees that with the exception of those retailers and brands with niche targets (think Abercrombie's focus on 18- to 24-year-old guys), life stage is the best way to break down male segments. His company does qualitative and quantitative research and has begun using social media as a way to gather data.How They ShopNo matter the life stage, there are some generalities about how men shop: They tend to be more grab-and-go; they want an easy-to-navigate space; they want to be able to park close to the entrance; and they want to touch the products. And in the current economic climate, value has taken on increased importance."It really depends on the segment. However, stressing that you make it easy, especially in a category men find intimidating (such as anniversary or Valentine's Day gifts) will generally appeal to men," says Michal Ann Strahilevitz, associate professor of marketing at San Francisco's Golden Gate University. "They rarely enjoy spending time in the store, so if you convince them that you will save them time, hassle and money, while not sacrificing quality, they will likely give you their business. Anything you can do to make it easy for males to find, try and purchase what they want, as fast as possible, will win them over."Lee Eisenberg, former Esquire editor and author of the forthcoming book "Shoptimism," says the worst offense a store can commit is preventing men from touching the merchandise. "Personally, I will never buy so much as a necktie unless I can lay my hands on the ties," he says. "The same applies to consumer electronics, tools, what have you. A lot of men simply feel they need to appear self-reliant, even if they're not."And while women may feel annoyed if a sales associate ignores them, Eisenberg says men may actually prefer it that way. "What bothers them more," he explains, "is when, once summoned, a salesperson can't quickly enough tell a man whether something's in stock or where in the store it might be found. Men want speed and efficiency."Reaching Them In-StoreAt The Home Depot, Atlanta, getting to the "meat of the message" is key to talking to men, who represent 51% of the retailer's customers. Brad Williams, director in-store environment, finds that they respond well to clarity. Particularly with the male-dominated professional segment of customers, simple signage works best."We inform more than we try to inspire," says Williams. "It's helping them make good decisions, make a confident purchase. Our approach to signage is a sixth-grade science book approach. There are not a lot of words. You see diagrams and cutaways in a way that is visually captivating and easily understood."Williams adds that it's important to have signs at eye level and for the products to be accessible. Noting that men typically want to self-navigate the store, a high priority is also placed on good way-finding signage.Benefit-driven messaging is TaylorMade-adidas Golf's in-store focus as it aims to speak to the 27 million core golfers, the majority of which are male. In the last few years, the Carlsbad, Calif.-based company focused on cleaning up the category. Having become cluttered with a barrage of technology-driven messaging (focusing on the minutia of features and specs), shopping for a driver had become a confusing and overwhelming experience with all brands starting to sound and look alike, says Brad Holder, senior manager, retail marketing."To fuel the launch of our new R9 and Burner drivers, we streamlined our in-store communications and visuals to more clearly focus on performance benefits," Holder says. "Our goal was for the golfer to stand in front of our equipment racks and, within the 'two-second test,' understand which TaylorMade driver fit his game."Nivea for Men has enticed male shoppers to purchase with trial samples on-pack and via displays. Account-specific offers that encourage multiple purchases and regimen usage, such as CVS Extra Bucks, have also been successful, says Venezia.P&G finds that leveraging "culturally relevant credentialers" is also compelling to guys. The company is active in sports marketing and recently signed a sponsorship with the NFL. "This alliance will benefit our retail customers by engaging an extremely loyal and fervent fan base with compelling programs that will drive our collective businesses," says Westbrook.The multi-year sponsorship commenced with the 2009 season and allows more than a dozen P&G brands to leverage NFL assets and collective team marks via fully integrated marketing initiatives and retail-specific executions.

Don't Forget Men

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