In-Store Gender Marketing - Aurora Best Buy Targets Women (GALLERY)

Electronics giant Best Buy has just opened a store in Aurora, Colorado that takes aim at a relatively unaddressed slice of the market--women. Best Buy polled their in-house Women’s Leadership Forum, also known as the WoLF pack, as well as 40 local female customers to see what features women desire in an electronics store.

The team found several key points that have been implemented in the Aurora location. Best Buy discovered that women perceive the phrase ‘home theater’ as an indication that the products offered are targeted at the very wealthy, not the average consumer. That term has been axed and replaced with ‘family room.’ The panel also indicated that they’d like to be able to visualize how electronics could be integrated into their homes; Best Buy has responded by grouping various gadgets together in model display rooms similar to Ikea’s showrooms.

There are more subtle differences, too, implemented per the suggestions of the women on the panel. Best Buy’s traditional warehouse setting has been tempered with skylights, earth tones and wood-paneled shelving. Restrooms feature lower sinks to make them easier for children to use, and there’s even a private restroom for new mothers with free diapers and a rocking chair. Best Buy’s staff training now emphasizes making eye contact with customers, and shopping carts are shaped like racecars.