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What Women Want

In a recent New York Times article, "What Do Women Want? Just Ask", Mickey Meece contends that female shoppers are causing innovative changes in the marketplace. For example, a homebuilder that used to build cookie-cutter homes modified its strategy after listening to female customers:
The kitchens in the company’s homes, the women said, were all wrong. The pantries were tiny, and the sinks needed to overlook a window so kids in the backyard could be monitored. And the mudrooms! They shared space with laundry rooms, meaning that dirty floors might sit right beneath clean laundry. (“It’s called a mud/laundry room?” one incredulous woman asked.) After that, Shane Homes subjected designs to similar grillings — before they were built — and adapted them accordingly.
A change in the demographics and psychographics of home purchasers created a market opportunity. Shane Homes tapped into this market after conducting qualitative market research.

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