GSS In The News

Besides world peace, an end to hunger, equal pay, and a cure for all diseases, women generally want the perfect partner, a nice home, good friends, genius children, fabulous clothes, delicious food, and always, always, a brilliant hair stylist.

And shopping, most women love to shop. While this may not sound like big news, how about this, "according to the Federal Reserve, women control more than 51 percent of private wealth in the United States, make 53 percent of investment decisions and control 80 percent of household spending." ("For Women, Shopping's Not Just About Filling the Closet," DailySentinal.com, May 23, 2006).

Statistics also show that women shop online, do their research online. A new poll conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center for ShopSmart magazine, finds that nearly all (96%) of American women who have shopped online in the past 12 months have purchased at least one product over the Web. Most online shoppers (57%) do both their product research and shopping online while a sizeable proportion do their research online and then go to a store to buy (31%).

Moms are especially attracted to social networking and community sites. Sites like Meetup.com garner more than 35,000 stay-at-home mother members.

And what are the key elements for successful online shopping and socializing? Make it simple, and make it fun.

GirlShopSpot.com was envisioned by an entrepreneurial woman, who also happens to be a mom. Along with her brilliant web-engineer husband, Jim, Christine Van Buskirk decided it was time to offer up an online storefront that made it easy for women to find great products and services, while helping other entrepreneurs find their customers...without spending future profits to do so. This team then weaves in their best-of-show SEO and online marketing genius to bring both parties together.

So, what is GirlShopSpot.com? It's an online shopping party, that's what it is. It's a colorful and fun way to meet other shoppers; search locally or across the country for that special bakery, organic baby food, or life coach. Offer up your recommendations on the products and services, restaurants, and much more. Find your best local option, or scout out the best places to shop and eat before you take that next business trip.

Don't have a heap of start-up capital but a great little product or service? GirlShopSpot.com is definitely the place for entrepreneurs. For as little as nothing buys you an ad on the site! The templates make uploading information and images as easy as applying lip gloss.

Just what does one get when creating an ad on Girl Shop Spot? How about this:

    - One page virtual ad, interactive and complete with built-in SEO functionality
    - Target the largest market segment locally or nationally
    - Up to 45 images, including 18 "must haves" with direct links to purchase or contact
    - Sections for business and product descriptions
    - Contact information, hours of operation, pricing and directions
    - Set up in six easy steps, then page goes live instantly
    - Create a micro blog under the Shop Talk function
    - Customer review and Shop Talk notification & management tools
    - New pay model with measuring tools where users only pay for the performance of an ad
    - User friendly search mechanism for fast retrieval of advertiser's products and services

But wait, there's really more! Advertisers can quickly and easily create:
    - Sales and Specials
        - Additional sales advertisements found on their web page and throughout site
        - Create and time these nifty sales tools, even automate them
    - Videos
        - Create a video and have it uploaded to their Shop Spot page
    - Measurement Tools and Stats
        - Measure and quantify each interaction made by shoppers

Smarter shopping searches are what people are looking for. Businesses need a direct way to market online to target audiences. And it's a given that online communities are here to stay. What the visionary creators of GirlShopSpot.com are serving up is a true one-stop shopping community for one such targeted audience, complete with proven spending chops: women---by letting them shop for what they want, when they want it.

In the past three decades, men's median income has barely budged -- up just 0.6% -- while women's has soared 63%. Some 30% of working women outearn their husbands, notes Martha Barletta, author of Marketing to Women: How to Understand, Reach and Increase Your Share of the World's Largest Market Segment.

Women's decision-making authority has grown in part because more households are headed by women -- 27% at last count, a fourfold increase since 1950. Their buying power has grown, too. And 75% of women with the title of vice-president or higher at Fortune 500 companies outearn their husbands, bringing home on average 68% of household income, according to Barletta.

And there are so many resources for women to find what they're looking for. OK, so maybe the perfect partner resource is finite. Otherwise, there is a myriad of businesses ready to vie for woman buyers. It is also true that a number of them are handicapped with minimal marketing resources. For stay-at-home-moms this is complicated further by time constraints.

There are millions of potential cottage businesses just waiting to be launched, with a vast supply of creativity in products and services that cater to women yet to be discovered. Skin care, aromatherapy, life coaching, art, home decor, business services, restaurants and bakeries, home parties---the list goes on and on.

Have you ever wanted something your friend had but didn't know where to find it? Wanted to have something different, special, made by hand or prepared just for you? Do you get frustrated with trying to come up with an idea for a local restaurant at the spur of the moment? Are you new to town and would love a referral to a hair stylist, decorator, or home cleaning service but sure don't know anyone to get the referral? Going out of town on business and want to be able to find good stuff quickly when you get there?

Working women ages of 24-54 -- of whom the U.S. has some 55 million -- have emerged as a potent force in the marketplace, changing the way companies design, position, and sell their products...Women earn less money than their counterparts -- 78 cents for every dollar a man gets. But they make more than 80% of buying decisions in all homes. And women shop differently from the way men do: Females research more extensively.