89% of African Women Control Household Purchases -

89% of African women control household purchases according to a research by Ipsos Africap. According to the research, Women control the majority of purchasing decisions in a household and their influence is growing tremendously as the modern African woman is becoming powerful and independent.

The desire to assert her independence, get a decent education and earn her own money has gained prominence, breaking the traditional mould of social stereotype and historical roles.

I personally agree with these statistics because today’s woman has evolved from the traditional farm woman to the boardroom woman who earns good money, thinks and acts independently. Women love shopping naturally and a typical woman would not let a chance to purchase good-looking fresh veges pass by.

Other key statistics about women from the research include;

42% of African women have a regular job and 49% earn an independent living.

Women do two-thirds of agricultural work and own a third of all businesses in the surveyed countries; in some countries, up to 65% of public officials and 70% of employees are women.

74% of the women interviewed stated that the status of women has improved over the last 5 years in their countries.

African women are primarily concerned with financial independence (72%), which was followed by inequality between the sexes (66%) and education for girls (59%).

African women devote 13% of their personal spending on average to beauty products and services (compared to 41% for food).

68% of Kenyan women stated that African women are more beautiful when they wear natural hairstyles (compared to 3% of Ivoirian women and 4% of Senegalese women).

55% of African women stated that they spend more than 2 hours per day watching television.

With the buying power of the female consumer becoming ever more powerful and with women making more of the household decisions, it’s important that potential investors orient their advertising towards this demographic. Advertising should focus on the modern African woman who is a working woman, rather than the traditional roles of mother, wife or caregiver.

The study paints a picture of women who are increasingly independent and who play a vital role in the functioning of the economy on the continent. As business owners, they are also seen as leaders within the communities of their respective nations.

In Senegal, 60% of executives are women.

Of the women surveyed, 45% were involved with non-profits; they list financial independence as their main concern (72%), followed by inequality between the sexes (66%) and educating girls (59%).

Women, including me have often been faulted for having a lot of stuff in their closet that they don’t use or rather need. More than fifty pairs of shoes of which only 20% are worn. I sometimes can’t resist the urge to buy a nice pair of pants or shoes even if I don’t need them, just because it looks good and it happens to be cheap.

But despite these spending patterns, African women put 41% of their personal expenses towards food, beauty products and other services account for 13% of their budgets. They are particularly attentive to hairstyles, although their style preferences differ greatly.