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  Kelley Skoloda
• German Study: Women Think Differently
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• Chinese Women: Buying Power and Social Status are Growing
  Peng Yue
• Women in Brazil: Reaching the Target Through Numbers and Intuition
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Chinese Women: Buying Power and Social Status Are Growing

Today's Chinese women possess social status and buying power that are stronger than ever as women play increasingly important roles at work and at home. This imposes a challenge to a society that traditionally has been dominated by men, but it presents a major opportunity for marketers.

Some statistics indicate that up to 70 percent of family purchase decisions are controlled by women, and recent research by MasterCard projects that the total spending of women in China will continue to grow, reaching about $525 billion (U.S.) by 2015. That would represent an increase of 59 percent over $330 billion in spending in 2005. Driving this consumption are career women in urban areas. In addition to expected roles of purchasing products for children, older relatives and friends, these women live a “consumption-driven” lifestyle. According to common statistics, 65 percent of female consumers spend more than 60 percent of their monthly income on purchases.

China ranks No. 2 in the global luxury market, and women's desire for luxury brands and products continues to grow. This is true not only in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, but it also applies in secondary markets, including Shenyang, Tianjin, Huaerbin and Quingdao. As women seek luxury goods, they also are very concerned about product quality and safety. So the indication for marketers is to take a long-term view and develop effective public relations programs to build brand trust and reinforce credibility.

Marketers already are starting to factor women's attitudes and sensibilities into their approaches. For example, using sex appeal in marketing has become more popular and is proving to be an effective element in attracting and engaging female consumers. As for public relations, specifically, influencer programs are increasingly being used to add value and credibility – most notably in the areas of fashion and lifestyle, where women are easily influenced by their perceived role models.

There has been great success with influencer programs that rely on celebrities and artists, as well as senior editors and columnists for fashion publications. For example, celebrity seeding programs for Samsonite and LensCrafters have been underway in China for the past two years. Outreach that provides product samples to relevant celebrities and chief editors has generated a lot of positive feedback about the products and favorable word-of-mouth about these brands. The messages get spread on blogs as well as through fashion shoots, editor's choice pages and books. As a result, consumers look for the exact style and model referenced in these information sources.

Online communication is a promising area for reaching Chinese women. While online retailing is still in its early stages in China, the country has one of the world’s most established Internet infrastructures and user bases. Of 168 million total Internet users, 45 percent are female. Social media and online communities are growing fast and having a major influence on purchase decisions as consumers use the Internet to share feedback about products. Along with auto and digital products, cosmetics and other women's products are among the hottest topics being discussed. Some marketers already have begun establishing systems for monitoring and analysis of these online conversations, and the area clearly is ripe for companies to use online word-of-mouth to promote their products and brands.