In Budget season it is appropriate to consider the views of someone who is fondly called in many homes as “the finance minister”. Because typically, the woman of the house is given a monthly budget, which she is responsible for prudently stretching across essentials (bought every month), value added items (premium food products for the child, for instance), occasional indulgences (such as beauty care) and gifts (such as festive season must-haves).
Home Finance Minister’s savvy Past research revealed that there are several savvy measures women naturally, and somewhat discreetly, adopt on a regular basis to manage their finances smoothly. To mention a few -
Women have a ‘secret’ pocket or area where they save money for personal spends or emergencies.
They keep their ear to the ground to extract value when prices rise. For instance, instead of buying vegetables from the local vendor they shift to buying from the wholesale market (or
Buying bulk quantities of high-quality staples such as rice, wheat, lentils and oil and sharing across 5-6 households.
These long-standing aspects of home budgeting savvy have now expanded to decision-making and aspiration across several other spheres of life. And interestingly, we notice that these new facets are no longer discreet and covert, but refreshingly candid acknowledgements by women themselves in a JWT Sonar Survey on What Women Want (SEC A, B, 20-45 years)
Expanded decision making The JWT Sonar survey across Asia (India, China, Indonesia) reveals that women believe they are the decision-makers across a range of products. When asked “in your household, who would make the final decision about which product or service you were going to buy/use?” 70 per cent of women replied “Me” for the following categories: Buying a home appliance, buying a new mobile phone or smartphone, open a new bank account. Over 50 per cent of women replied “Me” for: buying life insurance policy and travel. In China and Indonesia the figure is higher, with over 70 per cent of women making the decision on insurance policy and travel.
Wider pre-purchase research The expansion observed in women’s purchase and decision-making power is closely linked to their being better informed. Our survey reveals that over 55 per cent of women across Asia often do pre-purchase research using a variety of digital and non-digital resources. The top five sources of research are, in that order, search engine (like Google), recommendations from friends/ family/ colleagues, price comparison websites, brand/company websites and advertising. Closely followed by product sample or demonstration in store. (On a related note, a Google study pointed out that women tap seven sources of information prior to decision.)
Thus, for today’s women (“just sitting, we search on mobile, and find everything”), purchase intent and purchase behaviour reveal new dynamism and even more savvy thanks to easier accessibility to pre-research avenues.
Is there an underlying future trend at work here? The JWT Future 100 report says “feminism is being rebooted in the digital era, across, all generations, with a newly collaborative, open and empowered spirit”.
Evergreen prudence and fresh aspiration Happily, the prudence shown by women in the management of their monthly budget continues. When asked “Imagine for a moment that you were given $350 (in local currency) what would you do with it?” we found that generally, Asian women would invest or save it for rainy day.
But the story does not stop at saving and sacrifice. There is another chapter. There is a new and refreshingly bold articulation of financial aspiration among Asian women. Over 40 per cent of women have financial goals such as financial independence, career advancement, and travel the world. Half the women in Indonesia want to start their own business!
When asked “What was the most expensive item you purchased for yourself?” we found that jewellery, cars, laptops, and smartphones tend to be the most expensive items women have purchased for themselves, at an average cost of $656 in India, $880 in Indonesia, $967 in China.
In sum, the finance minister across homes is better informed and more empowered than before. Her careful prudence for household purchases and innate inclination to invest and save now has the newly added facets of financial goals and purchases for herself.
Initiatives by brands that champion these now overt financial goals and provide savvy and timely enablers so that these goals can be realised will forge a lifelong connection with women audiences.
Shaziya Khan is Executive Planning Director & Vice-President, JWT