THE LADIES’ BOOM
Women increasingly spend on tech, not clothes
Microchips are the new black.
Early holiday sales surveys are confirming a disturbing trend for department stores: Women are increasingly spending their money on gadgets in lieu of clothes.
Women now account for 50 percent of all shoppers at tech-centered retail outlets Best Buy and Apple — up from 35 percent in 2014, according to consulting and research firm Customer Growth Partners, which gathers its data by dispatching teams of checkers to major shopping venues.
“We hit a tipping point within the past 12 months on women’s spending on technology,” Craig Johnson, president of CGP, told The Post. “Share of wallet is going down for apparel and share of electronics is going up,” Johnson said, adding that women are buying AirPod Pros, laptops, smart watches and home management products like Google Home and Alexa.
Indeed, as women’s tech purchases soar, sales of apparel — particularly clothing sold at department stores — are shaping up to be flat to negative this holiday season, CGP data shows. Macy’s comparable sales fell 3.5 percent in the quarter ending on Nov. 2, while Kohl’s cut its earnings outlook last month leading into the holiday sales season.
The big exception is the discount retailers, like Walmart, Amazon, Costco and Target, which are driving an estimated 5.4 percent increase in spending over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday mash-up period, according to CGP.
Target, for example, shocked Wall Street last month when it reported a 10 percent increase in clothing sales in its most recent quarter by attracting shoppers seeking quality at lower prices. The stock popped close to 15 percent.
Hannah, who asked that her last name be withheld, seemed to be living proof of the shopping trend on Monday while searching for a large monitor to connect to her laptop at the Best Buy located at Fifth
Avenue and 44th Street.
The 25 year-old video editor said she balances out her pricey tech needs by shopping for clothes at thrift stores.
“I was thinking today about how dependent I am on technology,” she told The Post.
Similarly, Carol Gandelman, a chef from Rio de Janeiro, said she won’t be spending as much on apparel this year because her tech spending is up. Last year Gandelman spent too much on clothes, she explained while scooping up a 10-inch iPad and a smart keyboard at Best Buy.
The increase comes as tech giants seek to lure women with products designed for them, like smart speakers and smart watches that track their health and fitness, including their menstrual cycles.
There are “more things to buy that are ‘women friendly’,” agreed Kershia Carvalho after paying for a $199 Series 3 Apple Watch for her sister.
Women are also “becoming more educated about technology,” said Carvalho, who bought a Fitbit for herself earlier this year.
“I love technology and I need it,” Joanna Jong explained at the Apple store at Grand Central after treating herself to an iPhone 11 on Monday for her birthday.