Survey

What are European women like? Reasonable but impulsive
The comprehensive survey carried out by Ipsos for Sofinco in eight European countries allows us to better identify the specific features of " feminine" consumption: whereas Italians give priority to beauty, the English take care of their interiority and the French dream of journeys…

"72% pay attention to product prices"
"70% take their time comparing the products before purchasing them"
"68% often buy products for themselves or try new products"
"The French are first impulsive, then reflective"

Reflective or spur-of-the-moment purchase? One doesn't exclude the other
Reflective consumption is the consumption attitude most extensively claimed by Europeans. Thus, 72% think that paying attention to product prices is a rather feminine attitude, just as "taking one's time comparing products before purchasing them" (70% say this is their consumption approach).

This kind of feature attribution is unanimous among Europeans. Nevertheless, you will note that young women identify with this way of consumption slightly less than their older counterparts: only 66% of women aged 15-24 think that women pay attention to product prices more than men, as compared with 76% of women aged 55-64.
On the contrary, Spanish women distinguish themselves for their quasi-unanimity on the question: 85% think that "taking one's time comparing products before purchasing them" is more typical of women than of men (as compared with an average 70%).

Against all expectations, you can note that the thoughtfulness previously claimed by women is not in contrast with an impulsive attitude at the time of purchase. Whether it is a "whim" purchase, a "curiosity" purchase or a purchase "for oneself", European women spontaneously claim for themselves the forms of consumption that can be summarised under the generic term "pleasure purchase". 68% declare that "buying products for themselves" is a "rather feminine" behaviour.
Proportionally, the interviewed consumers tend to associate with women the habit of buying new products to try them and largely estimate that women are less able than men to resist the temptation of pleasure purchases. Whether it is the result of a bias or of personal experience, this is what they think.

"Pleasure purchase: an attitude considered as peculiarly feminine"

The French exception

This relation between different forms of pleasure purchase and the female sex occurs throughout the group of interviewed women, whatever their age and their income level. However, whether this is a privilege - or a weak point - of young age, women aged 15-24 can't resist the temptation of pleasure purchases more often than their older counterparts (71% as compared with an average 64%).

Furthermore, it is important to stress the wild curiosity of French women: 76% say they love "buying new products to try them" as compared with an average 68% in the whole of Europe.

On the other hand, French women distinguish themselves for their attitude towards "pleasure purchases". 78% think that "buying products for oneself" is an attitude more typical of women than of men (as compared with 68% of Europeans), just as "buying new products to try them" (76% as compared with 68%) or "not being able to resist the temptation of pleasure purchases" (66% as compared with 64%). Whereas the European female consumer is first reflective and then impulsive, the French one describes herself first as impulsive and then as reflective.

"Whereas the European female consumer is first reflective and then impulsive, the French one describes herself first as impulsive and then as reflective"

Do not touch my shopping!

What role does the shop assistant play? Asking for the shop assistant's help at the time of purchase is a point over which women disagree much more. 48% think that this is a rather feminine habit and 35% consider it as a rather masculine reflex, with the exception of Italian women. Most of them think that men ask for the shop assistant's advice more often than women (52% as compared with an average 35%). This is not a typically Mediterranean opinion about the question, since Spanish women tend - more than any other - to exclude men from their answers.

Nowadays, consumption is thus far from being considered as uniform among the members of both sexes, at least from the female point of view. This men/women difference in consumption behaviour expresses itself through an appropriation of all purchase attitudes by women, who perhaps want to play the main role on the consumption scene.

Say whether, in your opinion, each of the following sentences reflects a more feminine or masculine attitude.
Base: Women in general

Paying attention to product prices 14% 72%
Taking one's time comparing the products before buying them 20% 70%

Buying products for oneself 16% 68%

Buying new products to try them 18% 68%

Not being able to resist the temptation of pleasure purchases 21% 64%

Asking for the shop assistant's advice 35% 48%

More typical of men
More typical of women

If they had more money…
When asked what expense item they would like to increase, European women give priority to housing (30%) and journeys (28%). Health and beauty (18%) as well as clothing (10%) lag behind, whereas outings (6%) and cars (4%) do not seem to be important.
This hierarchy varies, however, according to the different nationalities. Thus, Italian women give priority to health/beauty (33%), whereas this item is placed last by British women (3%). On the other hand, you will note that French women are the ones who give the greatest importance to the "leisure" item, comprising journeys (27%) or outings (12%).
France is ahead of any other European "creditphile" country (33% of the French have already asked for credit or are thinking of asking for it with regard to at least 3 consumption items out of 7), followed by Great Britain (24%) and Spain (22%). Finally, you will note the considerable credit potential as a way of paying for a thalassotherapy treatment (12% of Europeans have already asked for credit or are thinking of asking for it to pay for a thalassotherapy treatment), a jewel (7%), a plastic surgery operation (6%) or a luxury garment (6%).

"Home sweet home and journeys"
Among the following expense items, which is the one you would like to increase first of all?
Base: European women

Your budget with regard to…

Journeys
Housing
Health, beauty
Clothing
Outings
Cars

Each age has its priorities
Women aged 15-24: clothing and outings
25% of women aged 15-24 - and 28% of students - place the clothing item ahead of the budget items they would like to increase first of all. Then comes the journey item, also chosen by a quarter of them. It is followed by the housing (19%), health/beauty (14%) and outing items, the latter being twice as important for this group than for the average (10% as compared to 5%). Finally, only 5% put the car at the head of their priorities, although this is the age group where you often have access to cars and driving.

Women aged 25-44: housing
37% of women aged 25-34 and 35% of the ones aged 35-44 would like to increase their housing budget, as compared with 30% of all the women interviewed. Housing, which is no doubt associated with an aspiration to ownership, clearly appears as the main consumption priority within this age group. Whereas the answers concerning journeys reflect the average, a whole consumption category - outings, health, beauty, and cars - seems to be secondary during this period.

Women aged 45-64: journeys
Women aged 45-64 give priorities to journeys. Whether it depends on the fact that children are grown-up or that the family's income has risen, 31% of women aged 45-54 and 28% of the ones aged 55-64 mention this consumption item as the one they would like to increase most, as compared with an average 27%. Journeys are therefore the first priority of women aged 55-64. Within this age group, you also note a striking difference between the priority given to housing - which is decreasing - and the one given to health and beauty - which is on the increase.

Women of more than 65 years of age: how to remain young
After reaching the age of 65 years, European women would like to increase above all the budget devoted to beauty and health. 27% of them - that is more than one "senior" out of four - give absolute priority to this item. It is followed by journeys (26%) and housing (23%). The other options seem to be secondary within this target.

"Women aged 15-24: priority to clothing and importance given to outings"

Each country has its specific features

Whereas some countries - such as Spain, Portugal or the Netherlands - reflect the European tendency, others show their own specific features.

France: priority to leisure

Unlike European women, who give priority to housing, French women would like above all to increase their journey budget. On the other hand, you will note that 12% of French women - 20% of the ones aged 35-44 - choose the outing item, as compared with only 5% of European women. Do French women enjoy merry-making more than anyone else? They especially love "family" outings. Indeed, the larger the household, the more European women tend to choose this consumption item (3% of women living alone as compared with 10% of those coming from a family of more than 4 people).

Great Britain: home sweet home

British women are the most unanimous: 39% mention the housing item when asked what is the budget item they would like to increase. Journeys embody almost a third of priority wishes as well (31%). Clothing (8%), outings (8%) and cars (6%) lag behind. Health and beauty, finally, score rather badly in Great Britain (3%).

Italy: beauty above all

On the contrary, German and Italian women both distinguish themselves for the priority given to the health/beauty item. 23% of German women and 33% of Italian women choose this item, as compared to an average 18%. In Italy, this is therefore the most important item, ahead of journeys (26%) and housing (24%).

The dream of credit
Are Europeans, and especially European women, inclined to turn to credit for buying products such as a thalassotherapy treatment, a luxury garment, a jewel or a plastic surgery operation?

Among these items, the one that mostly lends itself to credit subscription is no doubt the thalassotherapy treatment: while only 1% of Europeans has already subscribed credit for this type of purchase, 11% think they could do so (13% of European women). The Germans and the French are especially sensitive to this possibility since 17% and 15% of them respectively would consider turning to credit to pay for a thalassotherapy treatment, as compared, for example, with only 8% of the British.

Asking for credit to pay for a jewel, a luxury garment or a plastic surgery operation is not a widespread habit yet. Thus, only 2% of Europeans have already subscribed credit for a jewel and 1% for a luxury garment, whereas only 1% of European women has asked for credit to pay for a plastic surgery operation (0% among men).

However, potential recourse to credit for this type of purchases does not seem to be negligible. Indeed, 5% of Europeans declare that they could ask for credit to pay for a jewel, 5% for a luxury garment and 6% for a plastic surgery operation.

It is necessary to emphasise that the British seem to be very interested in credit with regard to the purchase of a luxury garment: 11% are considering turning to credit for such a purchase, as compared with an average 6% among Europeans.

Apart from this peculiarity, you will note that the profile of people most likely to ask for credit to pay for " beauty" purchases is not very different - as a way of consumption - from the profile of the Europeans who are the most receptive to credit. Thus, within the framework of these "luxury" items, the French remain the most open to credit. Finally, French men's fair play should not be forgotten: 12% of them could subscribe credit to buy a jewel and 3% have already done so, as compared with 6% and 1% of European men respectively.

The survey Ipsos carried out for Sofinco has been conducted on samples of 6,623 representative individuals (quota method) chosen among a population aged 15 and more, in eight countries of the European Union (France, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands). The results take into account a weighted global consolidation according to each country's demographic weight. The complete survey is available at www.canalipsos.com.

European women and lingerie
All these elements regarding the behaviour and purchase habits of European women are also reflected in their different approaches to lingerie products, so strongly linked with the "relationship with one's body" in the various cultures. European women do not buy the same quantity and the same kind of things, and young age does not erase some national peculiarities.

English women ahead of anybody else

According to the data of the recent Lingerie survey published by the IFM, English women are the Europeans who devote the largest budget to lingerie with a yearly expense of 114.1 euros, ahead of their French (97,7 euros) and Italian counterparts (78.6 euros). This English leadership is, however, largely due to the parity between the pound and the euro.
On the contrary, Spanish and German women are the ones who spend the least for lingerie (69.5 and 67.5 euros respectively).
The cultural differences among European countries do not emerge only from the increasing purchase averages, but are also reflected in the specificity of shapes or sizes - cup depth, panties, underwire devices -, and even in the typology of the products bought. Thus, French women, who are traditionally more sensitive to corsetry, spend on average 84% of their lingerie budget on it, whereas English women seem to be more interested in nightwear and indoors garments. Like their German counterparts, they are at the same time very sensitive to low prices.
Belgian women are - alas - absent from this survey. It would have been very interesting to know something more about the tastes of the main consumers of high-range French lingerie…

"French women love corsetry, whereas English women prefer nightwear"

They love buying in store chains

In most European countries, leader brands must change dramatically if they want to be in step with the market. Thus, in the United Kingdom, the Mark & Spencer brand is losing ground due to the aggressiveness of discount brands and to the high sales of some department store brands. In all countries, European and American brands try to optimise their store pool by obtaining the best locations, closing up the least profitable stores and so on. Some concepts suffer from early ageing: for example, the mega store concept - based on the "everything under the same roof" principle within a specific target or consumption universe - has not had the expected success, at least in France. New actors appear, immediately showing their international ambitions. Thus, the Oysho chain of the Spanish Inditex (Zara) group, created in 2001, aims at reaching an international level: one of its peculiarities is to address (young) women as well as men. Others concentrate on their own markets instead: Intimissimi, Golden Point and Infiore Store in Italy, Body One and Valège in France, Granita in Belgium… some new concepts whose success is being confirmed right now. The launch of more sophisticated lingerie, which has been expressing its extreme simplification through the simplicity of minimalism over the last few seasons, remains a trump card for high-range distributors - department stores and independent stores. These can address above all a maturer female consumer, tired of cheap but inelegant products, provided that their articles are up to their offer.

The opposite sex
Although women keep on considering their male counterparts as individuals not very interested in fashion or not inclined to waste their time doing shopping and are happy to be still the absolute masters of underwear purchases (70%), they could soon lose their leadership in the brand field, if this has not happened yet.
Judging from the consumption results observed in France by the IFM in 2001, the average purchase budget each French man devotes to underwear is small: 19.3 euros, five times less than the one a woman devotes to her lingerie (97.7 euros in 2001). Therefore, there is still a long way to go.
Men are always said to consider underwear purchases as utilitarian and to buy their underwear especially within the large food distribution (42% of expenses). Now, the question is the following: could they act otherwise?
Like outer garments, which have really experienced a sort of modernisation over the last two years, men's underwear seemed to be quite determined to benefit from the evolution of customs. All French brands have already made choices of radical positioning that will allow them to consolidate their brand image, thus conquering new territories. Other brands from the neighbouring countries intend to gain some ground in men's imagination, a sphere under construction. We already know that shaping microfibre boxer shorts, comfortable and expandable, have replaced pants with a front aperture or loose boxer shorts in the gentlemen's wardrobe and that the string is being increasingly used. Cultural differences oblige once again. Germanic men tend to be more daring, whereas Latin men tend to be more conservative. Macho logic oblige!

Rather wise girls
You will probably remember the first survey - "Women and lace" - carried out by Carlin International for Noyon. The second part of this study - which will be presented during the Lyons Mode City exhibition - particularly emphasises the approach to lingerie of girls aged 18-25 in three European countries: France, the United Kingdom and Spain. The first results confirm the existence of important cultural differences, even among youngsters.
"In both the capitals and provincial towns, we generally met rather reflective young women" explains Sylvie Maignan, the lady in charge of the "Young women and lace" survey. "Far from the Lolita image depicted by the media, they are often post-adolescents still under construction, full of contradictions, spurred by a true will to achieve their life goals while accepting the rules of society without rebelling. They are much less self-confident and conventional than you would expect." All these features are reflected very clearly in their purchase behaviour. "Girls aged 18-25 prove to be a rather reasonable generation in their relationship with fashion: they want fashionable products but without exaggeration."
Whereas, in the first survey, interviewed women aged 25-45 evoked a kind of lingerie associated with the improvement of their body image as well as with seduction and even sexuality, the girls of the second survey express a stronger desire for a natural and barely sketched femininity. They like lingerie but prefer invisible products and seamless articles, which they have immediately adopted for their comfort. Lace evokes - both for them and older women - a very strong image, largely associated with happy events such as weddings, christenings or particular occasions where, as a participant put it, "an elegant lace set gives me a sort of invisible power, and I feel much more self-confident". Their first contact with fine lingerie generally coincides with the beginning of adult life - financial independence and love relationships - or takes place through the initiation by their mothers.


English young women no doubt show a more unconventional taste, exacerbated and sometimes eccentric. They are generally more "show-off" and more committed girls. French girls are characterised by a somewhat BCBG bon ton, whereas Spanish girls carry the weight of tradition, since many still live with their parents.
Another interesting element is the fact that they match all their lingerie with their clothing. Lingerie must not be too showy for French and Spanish girls, then, who prove to be rather shy: not too many transparencies and a tendency towards printed fabrics provided that they have only light contrasts. These girls do not want their lingerie to be visible, unless it has been designed for that purpose. They just want to be at their ease while having beautiful breasts.
Needless to say, they buy their lingerie mainly in ready-to-wear chains and they often satisfy their spur-of-the-moment wishes. Just as it is the case for clothing, what matters to them is the opportunity to change frequently. That is why stores offer panties at 25€ and bras at 50€. These prices are very different from the ones of brand shops!
Whereas the differences in behaviour are rather slight between Paris and Nantes as well as between Madrid and Salamanca, the gap is deeper between London and Manchester: London women are much more disenchanted with the offer and much more determined than their provincial counterparts.
Wonder bra effect obliges. English women love push-up bras and wear them all the time. They are also mad about brilliant or sparkling fabrics, which they usually wear under small tight-fitting dresses.
French and Spanish women prefer small balconnet bras with various shades of the same colour or seamless garments if they have small breasts. They change their lingerie according to use; they love cotton and micro fibres for their softness and their natural aspect.


The results of this survey will be presented in their entirety in the mornings of Sunday 1st and Monday 2nd September at Lyons Mode City. We thank Sylvie Maignan for these anticipations as well as Olivier Noyon for making them available to us.