"Metro" or "Retro"? How About Neither.

Last Saturday a couple of my friends and I decided that we would bravely venture into the heavily “estrogenated” world that we are supposedly a part of by going to see the newest chick-flick, “He’s Just Not that Into You.” Now admittedly, I got a huge kick out of it and found the film to actually provide some pretty interesting points of view. However, what I truly found interesting was that this movie very clearly articulated the dilemma illustrated in the “Secrets of the Male Shopper” article. The entire film perfectly grouped men into one of two categories. They were either depicted as 1. the “metrosexual”, or 2. the “retrosexual.” Talk about type-casting. I couldn’t help but reflect back to this article and become seemingly annoyed at just how black and white the men were being portrayed. In doing so, the writers showed that they too suffer from a lack of knowledge about the true diversity of the “male” market, thus paralleling the struggles facing modern day marketing. Consequently, my lone guy friend that decided to venture to see the film with us was left unable to identify with any of the male actors in the film as he falls into the strikingly broad “middle of the road” male market segment. After gauging his feeling of isolation, I began to realize just how important it will be for me as a marketer to get a better grip on the male market; a market divided into more than just “metrosexual” and “retrosexual” men.

To begin with, male shoppers vary greatly in their purchasing behavior depending upon what age segment they fall into. “Secrets of the Male Shopper” continually highlighted the younger male’s segment as being more willing to venture into product categories not previously purchased readily by their older counterparts. For example, boomer dads are a lot more likely to shop for diapers and groceries then their dads ever were, and today’s teen boys are more willing to shop for specialized hygiene products then their dads have ever been. I have grown up with two brothers, and watching their purchasing patterns in contrast with my father’s never ceases to amaze me. Whereas my dad is much more likely to make a run to the store for milk than my grandfather ever was, my brothers are much more likely to shop for and buy their own clothes then my dad has ever been. My brother also uses a specialized scented “Axe” body wash in the shower, but my father would sooner die than go near the words “body wash.” My brother actually cares enough to schedule his own haircut and you will never find him with dirty nails. And yet it is important to note that my brother loves his baseball, and there is nothing cooler than “Medal of Honor” on Playstation thus clearing him altogether from the threat of “metrosexuality”. He’s a more “modern male,” and his purchasing interests differ greatly from our father and grandfather’s, but he is certainly not “girly.”

This alone demonstrates the sheer vastness of differences among men just based on their ages. You then have to start considering differences in levels of education, income and marital status. As a result of more women pursuing higher levels of education, the traditional age at which people marry has been pushed back significantly. As such, there is now a large market for late 20-early 30-year-old males that never existed before. These men need homes, furniture and neighborhoods targeted to their needs. They’re less likely to care about the number of kids in the neighborhood and more likely to care about access to pools, parks and other recreational activities when looking for a home. They also tend to care more about garage size and spend more time in the living room than the kitchen. With this in mind, home builders and land developers would be smart to vary up their offerings to cater to such male shopper needs. They’re also more likely to want access to activities and facilities that allow them the opportunity to meet women but also hang out with “the guys.” Also, this could open up a whole new segment for the house cleaning segment to target. These single, “fab” guys will likely have a 1000 other things they’d rather do then tidy up, and the cleaning industry would be smart to tap into that.

Additionally, it will be important for grocery stores to start catering more to male needs. For example, perhaps they will want to consider adding a “tools” section along with beauty products largely targeted exclusively towards female shoppers. It would also be a good idea for makers of baby suppliers and parenting products to start taking a more proactive approach in targeting men. Today’s men are more involved in the family life than ever before, and with an increase in women working full-time, they’re going to have to be. Parenting magazines should look into featuring ads and articles targeting both sexes, and Gerber should consider featuring more dads feeding children on their commercials.

All in all, the acknowledgment of the existence of such a diverse market will open up marketers to countless possibilities. We just have to be careful not to shut out a segment that may help us rise to the top.