Page 71 - Aamir Rehman - Dubai & Co Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States-McGraw-Hill (2007)

Think Again: Addressing Misconceptions about the GCC 55

sectors. In a 2006 article, a spokesperson for the Ford Motor
Company asserted that women influence 85 percent of auto
purchases and make 45 percent of car purchases directly. 18 In
consumer electronics, women outspend men, and influence 90 per-
cent of purchases. 19 Gone are the days when companies could
assume that men made the majority of major purchase decisions.
Some global executives, however, are under the impression
that females in the GCC are marginalized out of purchase decisions.
This impression may be driven partly by stereotypical images of
Gulf women dressed in the traditional outer gown (abaya), which
remains the norm for GCC women. There is a broad assumption, in
many circles, that women who wear an abaya must be oppressed
and disenfranchised. The international media has come to associate
the abaya with exclusion and a denial of rights, leading observers to
feel that traditionally dressed women lack the power to make eco-
nomic decisions.
The reality, however, is that female consumers are enormously
powerful and influential in the GCC. The evidence in the market-
place is overwhelming: far more stores cater to women than to men,
more women are visible in shopping centers than men, and women
are making hefty purchases with credit cards and cash, often out-
spending men. Billboards and television ads confirm this reality,
with messages clearly targeting female consumers. Newsstands
have plenty of women’s lifestyle magazines—replete with sections
on fashion and cosmetics—as many as one finds in the West or in
Asia. Marketers who understand the region have grasped that
females are driving core purchasing decisions.
GCC women—especially the younger ones—are becoming
savvier and more sophisticated. University-educated women are a
key, growing demographic with increasing disposable income and
discerning taste. Each year, for example, over 40,000 UAE citizen
women matriculate into university-level degree programs. What
may surprise many readers, however, is that the number of female
students is twice that of males. 20
Consider Figure 2.5, which shows female students as a percent-
age of total first-year students at higher colleges and universities.
Savvy marketers target young, educated consumers because
they represent the high-value customers of tomorrow. In the case of
the GCC, this category is largely female.