NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Revealing key insights for brand marketers, Makovsky, one of the world’s largest independent integrated communications firms, and SheSpeaks, an influencer marketing and media platform with a reach of 100 million women, today announced results of the What Women Want: 2016 survey, demonstrating that women are focused squarely – and equally – on improving both personal and financial health in 2016. Nearly 1,700 survey respondents declared their most important goals in 2016 to be money/financial goals (40%) and health/wellness goals (41%). In fact, nearly two-thirds of respondents (63%) said they anticipate increasing their focus on personal financial management in 2016, and more than half (51%) declared they would rather hire a fitness trainer or nutritionist than a financial advisor, interior decorator or personal shopper in the year ahead.
Survey results further revealed that women’s wellness priorities reflect not only in their attitudes, but in their behaviors, including a focus on preventive healthcare. Nearly 7 in 10 women ages 46 and older (69%) plan to get a mammogram in 2016, with another 45% of women ages 35-45 planning to do the same.
“These survey data make me feel proud to be a woman – and proud of my sisters who, despite what pop culture often says about us as consumers, are focused on improving their health and investing in the future,” remarked Denise Vitola, managing director, Makovsky, and head of the firm’s new and growing Consumer Practice. “Marketers and brand managers planning for 2016 must take note – women are spiritually mindful and physically attentive to who we are, and these survey data show where our true interests and priorities lie.”
Fielded online to 1,694 SheSpeaks members aged 18 years and older, from December 4 to December 9, 2015, the What Women Want: 2016 survey results show respondents’ focus on physical and financial health in stark contrast to their low interest in personal shopping and improving physical appearances. When asked what they would do with an extra $1,000, 43% would choose to put the money in a savings or retirement account, while just 6% said they would buy clothing or accessories for themselves. Similarly, when asked how they would spend an extra $5,000, just 7% said they would use the funds for a cosmetic treatment like botox or plastic surgery. This finding is especially interesting in contrast with recent data discussed in Time Magazine in June 2015, which stated that plastic surgery is on the rise, with US doctors performing more than 15 million cosmetic procedures in 2014 – a 13% increase from 2011.1
Women are also proactively leveraging technology to help manage the things most important to them: tracking exercise/fitness/sleep (36%), tracking food/calories/nutrition (26%), and tracking friends, parents or kids (23%). And, echoing their own desires to protect and enhance their physical and financial wellbeing, women today say that girls’ education should emphasize science (30%) and math (22%) more than any other subjects.
“Women wield incredible influence as consumers, heads of households, and leaders in business and society – and 2016 is sure to represent a remarkable year for women, particularly with a female candidate taking center stage in the 2016 presidential election,” observed Aliza Freud, founder and CEO, SheSpeaks. “Women’s focus for the coming year is clear: financial and personal wellness goals are at the top of the list – not plastic surgery, shopping, or even dating – and marketers who want to reach this critical demographic need to take women as seriously as they take themselves.”
“What Women Want: 2016” Survey Methodology
The What Women Want: 2016 survey was fielded online among 1,694 SheSpeaks members from December 4 to December 9, 2015. The sample is comprised of U.S. women aged 18 years and older, including 107 respondents aged 25 or younger (6%); 434 ages 25-35 (26%); 711 ages 35-45 (42%); and 442 aged 46 and older (26%).
About SheSpeaks
SheSpeaks, Inc. is an influencer marketing and media platform fueled by its community of content creators with a reach of 100 million. Its recently launched video platform, SheSpeaksTV, produces and amplifies video content targeted to women age 25+.
About Makovsky
Founded in 1979, Makovsky (www.makovsky.com) is one of the nation's largest and most influential independent integrated communications firms. The firm attributes its success to its original vision: that the Power of Specialized Thinking™ is the best way to build reputation, sales and fair valuation for a client. Based in New York City, the firm has agency partners with nearly 2,000 professionals in 100 cities through IPREX (IPREX.com), the second largest worldwide public relations agency partnership, of which Makovsky is the founder.
During 2014 and 2015, Makovsky won more than 50 awards for the agency, its client campaigns and its people. Recently the firm was ranked #7 in The New York Observer “PR Power 40 List” of the most influential firms in New York City.
