🎓 No, women don’t prefer pretty products

People are up to 2.8x more likely to pick prettier products for women compared to men. However, women themselves, choose functionality over looks.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 January 09, 2024 | [Read Online]( No, women don’t prefer pretty products People are up to 2.8x more likely to pick prettier products for women compared to men. However, women themselves, choose functionality over looks. [Thomas McKinlay]( [fb]( [tw]( [in]( [email](mailto:?subject=Post%20from%20Ariyh&body=No%2C%20women%20don%E2%80%99t%20prefer%20pretty%20products%3A%20People%20are%20up%20to%202.8x%20more%20likely%20to%20pick%20prettier%20products%20for%20women%20compared%20to%20men.%20However%2C%20women%20themselves%2C%20choose%20functionality%20over%20looks.%20%0A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fariyh.beehiiv.com%2Fp%2Fwomen-dont-prefer-pretty-products) New to [Ariyh](? This is a 3min practical summary of a scientific study 🎓 Join 25,021 marketers who use science, not flawed opinions 📈 [Subscribe here]( Today’s insight is brought to you by… [Zaplify]( Stop wasting hours prospecting manually. [Zaplify]( is your dead-simple [free AI sidekick](. It: - Finds prospects among 600M+ leads - Engages them across channels - Hands you warm leads ready to buy The [free forever plan]( includes full access plus 20 new leads every month. No credit card required. [Get automated prospecting]( Want to sponsor Ariyh? [Here’s all you need to know](. 📝 Intro Your sister-in-law loves music. Her birthday is approaching and you decide to get her a vinyl player. The electronics store has a few options and one stands out from the rest - it’s painted a bright color, has a sleek design, and would look great in her office. The consultant tells you that even though this brand is known for their outstanding looks, for that same price you can find options with better quality sound and longevity. What would she value more? The beautiful details or better sound and quality? You decide to go for the nicer looking player. And you’ve made a mistake most people regularly make. P.S.: Make sure to address any gender pay gap within your company. People, particularly women, are [less likely to buy]( from companies with a high gender pay gap. Previous insight: [When to use direct mail vs email marketing]( (more insights [here]() Women prefer functional, high-quality products, over pretty designs Topics: Product | Ecommerce For: B2C Research date: September 2023 📈 Recommendation Refrain from focusing on making products prettier to market them to women (e.g. more stylish sneakers over comfortable ones). In reality, women are likely to prefer functionality over design. This is especially important if creating a beautiful product comes at the cost of quality loss. Visually attractive but not functional products will likely hurt your sales. 🎓 Findings - Both men and women tend to believe that women prefer design over functionality. However, women do not prioritize looks when they choose products for themselves. - Throughout 11 experiments scientists found that when choosing items for female (vs male) people were: - 2.8 times more likely to pick a prettier USB memory stick. There was no such difference when females were picking for themselves. - Twice more likely to focus on pretty looks, when marketing or designing products for women, than what women would choose for themselves. - Up to 28.4% more likely to choose the prettier item for females after reading generic descriptions of two products. - Even when people are reminded that they are probably biased, they continue to make the same choices. 🧠Why it works - We tend to hold certain societal beliefs about gender preferences (e.g. women like beautiful items). - Some [previous research]( has suggested that women may be [more associated with concepts of feelings](, while men are associated with rationality (e.g. women feeling an emotional preference towards looks, men making rational choices about functionality). - Women [are often portrayed]( as more concerned with physical appearances. This in turn becomes a stereotype, even in non-beauty products. - So we are more likely to choose prettier products for (other) women, but women don’t do so themselves (since they know their own true preferences). 🚀 Boost your SEO rankings with the #1 source for high-quality backlinks Are you struggling to climb the Google rankings? Want to see your website on the first page? With [dofollow.com](, your SaaS company will gain access to high-quality backlinks from sites like HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, Namecheap, and 100s more. Why choose them? Two main reasons: You only pay for the links they get live (no hidden fees), and they replace any broken links for free. [Get backlinks to your business]( This announcement was sponsored. Want your brand here? [Click here](. ✋ Limitations - The study tested only gender-neutral products (e.g. flash disks). The effect may change in gendered product categories (e.g. beer as a masculine category and makeup as a feminine category). - Did not test the effects of choosing items for a wide range of relationships (only best friends and acquaintances). Effects may be different when choosing items for romantic partners or children, for example. 🏢 Companies using this - Some retailers have attempted to launch ‘pretty’ product lines targeting only women: - Della - Dell laptops targeted at women received backlash and had to revamp its design within a few weeks. - Dodge - La Femme cars line sold poorly and was discontinued. - Certain product categories tend to, historically, be branded differently for men and women (e.g. cosmetics such as shampoos or creams). However, non-gendered brands are becoming more common (e.g. cosmetics like The Ordinary, Aesop or Akytania). Niche perfumes are often considered to be unisex, with no gendered visual elements. However, the prettier the bottle the more likely people will gift it to women. ⚡ Steps to implement - Avoid positioning and advertising generic products in gendered ways to appeal to female buyers (e.g. claiming that an item like a phone or a suitcase is better suited for women because of its sleek looks). - When preparing gendered-targeted marketing materials (e.g. gift guides, segmented audience campaigns) be mindful of selecting and presenting items based on their design versus performance or quality. - Focus your marketing efforts on the benefits (what the product actually delivers) and the quality of the product, as functionality appeals to all genders.  🔍 Study type Lab and online experiments and field experiment (at a Chinese university with 300 participants) 📖 Research [Appearance for Females, Functionality for Males? The False Lay Belief about Gender Difference in Product Preference](. Journal of Consumer Research (September 2023) 🏫 Researchers - Xianchi Dai. The Chinese University of Hong Kong - Yu (Anna) Lin. The Chinese University of Hong Kong - Jianping Liang. Sun Yat-Sen University - Chen Yang. South China University of Technology Remember: This is a new scientific discovery. In the future it will probably be better understood and could even be proven wrong (that’s [how science works](). It may also not be generalizable to your situation. If it’s a risky change, always test it on a small scale before rolling it out widely. Rate today’s insight to help me make Ariyh's next insights 🎓 even more useful 📈 How was today’s insight? 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