What do Women Want? Ginger finds the sweet spot for powerhouse consumer group.

Local consulting firm unveils annual What Women Want survey, to help brands understand what’s hot — and what’s not — in 2015 and beyond

Jennifer Weismann
612-716-0556 | Jennifer@owl-marketing.com

MINNEAPOLIS — April 23, 2015 — Wondering where to shop for Mother’s  Day this year—the Apple Store or lululemon? How do women really feel about a  female POTUS in 2016? And what are they eating — or not eating? Today, Twin  Cities-based Ginger Consulting unveils findings from its sixth-annual What Women  Want survey, a gathering of sharp insights into consumer trends from the firm’s national group of female super-consumers. 

And what they found this year might surprise you.

For example, 64 percent of women think the latest diet and nutrition trends  — such as Paleo, juicing, and gluten-free — are just fads, and find people who follow  those diets for non-medical reasons to be annoying. And, the results also indicated  that more than half of the women surveyed don’t mind making dinner every night.  (Unless, perhaps, it needed to be Paleo or gluten-free.)

The 2015 What Women Want survey ranges across personal and popular  topics. This year, panelists shared thoughts on the current retail climate (62 percent  think retailers should ditch the “cash back on your next visit” approach), female  candidacy in the 2016 presidential election (26 percent think a woman candidate  will have to overachieve to be considered as good as the average male president),  Mother’s Day gifts (iGadgets, cute workout gear or girls’ trips, please), retirement  savings levels, health trends, and, naturally, Fifty Shades of Grey. On the whole, the  results showed an upward trend in the female consumer’s personal economic state  and agenda for 2015.

It’s all in the secret sauce — Ginger’s proprietary Alpha Panel™ is comprised  of 350 hand-selected, bright and educated women from 10 U.S. cities who have their  fingers on the pulse of trends and interests specific to women today. Founded in 2003 by former Fallon executives Mary Van Note and Beth PerroJarvis, Ginger delivers to brands and businesses insights into the world’s largest and  most influential consumer group — women — through services including marketing  strategy, planning, ideation and custom research. 

“We tap into our panel in a number of ways — the What Women Want survey  is one example — to better understand what’s on women’s minds at home, at work,  and everywhere in between,” said Beth Perro-Jarvis, co-founder, Ginger Consulting.  “Our alpha-females are a representative sample of America’s largest consumer  group — the powerhouse that buys and sells 85 percent of all products bought and  sold in the U.S. Naturally, they have a lot to say about the marketplace, and life in it.”

“Since we began our survey around the recession, we’ve seen women’s  moods grow more positive each year,” said Mary Van Note, co-founder, Ginger  Consulting. “Lately, they’re feeling good enough to budget for a splurge or two — and not only that, they’re interested in splurging on experiences, like a weekend  away with their girlfriends. Brands, listen up — women aren’t looking to acquire  more stuff, they’re looking for a fabulous experience, and they’re willing to pay for  it.” 

Ginger Consulting is a consulting firm that provides strategy, ideation and  custom market research for blue-chip brands— as well as emerging companies you  haven’t heard of yet. Ginger is deeply experienced in female consumers because  they are, after all, the most influential consumer group on the planet.