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March 12, 2008
Understanding Your Cycles: Men's vs. Women's
When it comes to the difference between female and male shoppers the trends are clear: women are more likely to have a preseason buying plan for cold weather products and new seasonal goods. Retailers need to take advantage of this trend by focusing their first seasonal shipments on women’s wear. In other words, get the women’s product on the floor and in the most visible of spots first.
As shoppers, men can be tire-kickers and grazers. They will wait until they’re freezing before they invest in a jacket. If you focus your merchandise on women's wear at the beginning of the season, your sales will increase, but remember that the window is small and the men’s visibility needs to be aggressive for the remainder of the season.
The markdown (MD) cycle also plays into these gender trends. For example, men will act on a 20% MD in January, whereas women will need an MD of 30% to 40% to act. This is because women perceive the season as being longer. After all, they were buying in August and September when the men were still grazing.
The lesson here: pay attention to your gender trends and be more aggressive with Women’s MDs. It takes more margin sacrifice to move product.
Posted by Jason LeBlanc at March 12, 2008 06:34 PM
