Pricey boys toys
An article titled Why do parents spend more on boys than girls? was recently published in The Guardian. A UK survey found that “parents spend an average of £223 on Christmas presents for sons, whereas the equivalent figure for daughters is £127.”
The article commented that although the figures may seem to be a sign of parental sexism, the figures relate more to the fact that boys and girls have very different gift preferences. Predictably, the top boys’ toys this season are technological, while girls ask for toys that combine cutesiness with budgetary modesty. Moreover, girls tend to keep their toys for longer and are not as demanding for the latest craze. Boys tend to ask for the newest toys as soon as they’re released.
Although the study was conducted in the UK, I’d say the figures would reflect Australian trends.
A SMH article titled What Women Want features a new mobile phone being marketed to women this Christmas. The pink Samsung E530 mobile includes a shopping list, a fat calculator, biorhythms and an ovulation calendar.
Marketing manager Jenny Goodridge believes that most mobiles on the market are skewed towards men, while this phone is one of the only ones designed specifically for women.
“According to AMR Interactive analyst Jason Juma-Ross, women are big buyers of technology. If there’s any surprise there, it’s that manufacturers are not pushing more girly gadgets into the shops. Marketers are becoming more aware of the buying power of women in the technology market place and responding with more targeted products,” Mr Juma-Ross says.”
So, maybe males tend to desire technological products more than women do because they are generally marketed to men…..
Hi Alice,
Your post entitled “Pricey boys toys” was really informative. I had never heard before that parents spent more on average on boys than girls.
The final point that you raised (So, maybe males tend to desire technological products more than women do because they are generally marketed to men…..)really got me thinking. What you said has alot of truth to it because we generally only find out and become interested in certain products after being attracted by either a) a products certain features or b) the way the product is marketed which makes us believe that it will be useful to us in some way.
This is especially the case in children.
So from this we can draw the conclusion that it isn’t favouratism on part of the parents, but rather the way marketing has shaped the wants of children.
Comment by Nicole — December 18, 2005 @ 4:57 am
Hi Alice,
Your post entitled “Pricey boys toys” was really informative. I had never heard before that parents spent more on average on boys than girls.
The final point that you raised (So, maybe males tend to desire technological products more than women do because they are generally marketed to men…..)really got me thinking. What you said has alot of truth to it because we generally only find out and become interested in certain products after being attracted by either a) a products certain features or b) the way the product is marketed which makes us believe that it will be useful to us in some way.
This is especially the case in children.
So from this we can draw the conclusion that it isn’t favouratism on part of the parents, but rather the way marketing has shaped the wants of children.
Comment by Nicole — December 18, 2005 @ 4:58 am
I’d be interested to see find out if boys are more likely to demand the latest craze because they are being very specifically marketed to.
It’s an interesting thought for me partly because within my group of friends everyone is very techy - both boys and girls have most of the latest gadgets, games and systems. But then I suspect we are slightly different anyway - barely any of the boys know how to drive.
Comment by Liz Skuthorpe — January 9, 2006 @ 8:42 am