A new report from Saatchi & Saatchi (perhaps following up on Trendwatching’s female fever report) reveals that women feel ‘patronised’ and ‘offended’ by the abundance of pink technology products aimed at women and that only 9% of those questioned felt it was important that gadgets look feminine.
But how does that explain why Woolworths say this phone (the Samsung S400i in Plum) 
was its best selling handset last Christmas, shifting nearly 30,000 of them. And yes, it comes with its own lip gloss.
Woolies apparently also sold 12 times as many pink Playstation 2s as black models.
I think the answer lies in not seeing the entire female population of Britain as one homogenous audience. Yes, some women do love pink sparkly gadgets, while others place sleek, stylish looks and usability higher up their priority list.
Manufacturers and retailers need to cater for both of these groups – and all the rest too, from the techno-joy gadget chicks to the had-to-ask-my-husband-how-to-switch-my-phone-on contingent.
It’s a case of horses of courses again – and you’d be amazed at the amount of pink sparkly stuff some very embarrassed horses are currently trotting round wearing…
Yeah perhaps women should no longer be considered a discrete segment ;-p
But sigh the pink the pink makes me sad.
Link to the report?
FX
Full report doesn’t seem to be online, but a google news search will bring up the highlights (try saatchi gadget as search terms)