Explain the change in buying roles of husbands and wives due to an evolving consumer lifestyle in the United States. Additionally, describe the effect of this change on marketers

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

In the United States, the wife traditionally has been considered the main purchasing agent for the family in the areas of food, household products, and clothing. However, with more women working outside the home and the willingness of husbands to do more of the family's purchasing, all this is changing. A recent survey of men ages 18 to 64 found that 51 percent identify themselves as primary grocery shoppers in their households and about 39 percent handle most of their household's laundry. At the same time, today women account for 50 percent of all technology purchases and influence two-thirds of all new car purchases. Such shifting roles signal a new marketing reality. Marketers in industries that have traditionally sold their products to only women or only men—from groceries and personal care products to cars and consumer electronics—are now carefully targeting the opposite sex.