Home Depot Pursues Women

Did you know that women decide on 80% of home improvement projects?

Home Depot (HD ) marketed its power tools and drywall to men, but it's now aggressively pursuing women with classes that teach them how to do home repairs. It's also pursuing entertainment partnerships with home improvement shows like Trading Spaces, which are widely watched by women.

The Do-It-Herself Workshops, geared toward women and provide the support and education women need to fix things themselves without being condescending. If they have little ones, Home Depot also provides Kids Workshops, geared to 5-12 year olds and gives them some safety tips while also teaching them a few skills that foster a sense of accomplishment.

Research shows the female do-it-yourself market place for home improvement is rapidly growing:

• 67% of women describe themselves as a “Do-It-Yourselfer”
• 57% of all women homeowners would rather work on their homes than on improving their careers
• 9 out of 10 single women recently surveyed by Lowe’s feel comfortable using a power tool and 77% surveyed own one
• 29% of female DIYs are more confident in their ability to do home improvement work “better and cheaper” than a professional
• Nearly 50% of women seek assistance at a local home center or hardware store or watch TV cable home improvement programs before starting a home improvement project
• 17 million single women own homes today, and this will increase to over 30 million in the United States alone by 2010!
• More than half of America’s women have undertaken a home improvement job in the past two years.
  

Home Depot reports that half of the purchases made within their stores are in fact made by women! They are not alone, Lowe's and Sears reports are similar and are also taping into this long overlooked and lucrative market segment.


Stephanie Holland is President and Creative Director for Holland + Holland Advertising. Working in an industry that is mostly dominated by men, she is one of only 3% of the female creative directors in the country. Stephanie works mostly with male advertisers helping them successfully market to women.