News

IDC and WITI Launch Groundbreaking Study to Examine Technology Usage Among Women (7/4/2005)

WITI (Women in Technology International) the nation's largest professional organization for tech-savvy women, and IDC today launched an online study designed to deliver new insights into the technology usage and purchases of women. The survey is open to all women and is available at http://mmemoir.com/idc/html.php?ID=1.

Women are a vital part of the technology marketplace - a recent study sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) found that women represent more than $55 billion worth of sales to the consumer electronics industry and influence roughly 75% of all purchases in the category. Yet little research is available that provides useful insight into women's attitudes and behaviors toward technology and the drivers that shape their purchase decisions.

"Women in the U.S. today represent a dominant force in purchasing computing, mobile, home entertainment, and communications products and services. However, little is known about their usage behaviors and attitudes toward these types of products," said Robin Raskin, director of media for WITI. "Thus far, women have been largely overlooked as a market with distinct needs and preferences for technology."

The new IDC-WITI study will explore the essentials of technology usage behaviors and attitudes among tech-savvy women. Some of the topics to be covered in this groundbreaking study include:

* The technology products women rely on most
* Women's attitudes towards today's technology marketing
* The impact of technology on women's lives
* Women's preferences for how to learn about new technology

"While we know women tend to buy technology products with a more pragmatic eye than men, we aim to probe deeper into their usage patterns and the underlying psychology behind their purchases to help technology companies better understand their female customers," said Dana Thorat, senior research analyst at IDC. "We expect the study will provide a more complete understanding of how women use technology and what they value in the technologies they buy and use."

The results of the study will be jointly announced by IDC and WITI at a special breakfast to be held at WITI's national meeting at the LAX Hilton Hotel, in Los Angeles, on May 5th.

www.witi.com
www.idc.com