Are Women the Key to Wireless Frame Success?

In our interview with Dean Finnegan, CEO of Pandigital, the company that sold over 520,000 digital photo frames in 2006, he said that 78% of his customer are women. That means that in 2006, over 405,000 women bought digital picture frames. When you look at a number like that, you have to pay attention, and maybe it has to change your strategy.

It’s led me to wonder: Are women the key to wireless frame success?

According to various sources, women drive as much as 75-80% of purchases of home goods. When you combine that figure with those supplied by Finnegan, it seems that perhaps the assumptions about the wireless photo frame customer to date have been wrong.

Previously, the assumed profile of the wireless frame customer, at least in the early stages of this market, was something like:

• Male
• Very technically savvy
• Knows a lot about computers
• Likes gadgets
• Early adopter

But perhaps that’s all wrong. Perhaps the profile that should be used by companies that want to succeed in the space is something more like:

• Female
• Wife and mother
• Knows some about computers
• Cares about style and photos
• Wants an easy-to-use product

If this profile is actually the key to success in this market, or at least near-term success, manufacturers are going to need to change their assumptions and efforts in areas like

• Product style - an empahsis on good looking products, products that look like home goods not gadgets
• Interface design - ease of use will be much more important
• Marketing - the products will need to be marketed to women, not men
• Retail channels - Forget Best Buy, get those things into department and home goods stores

which could make for a pretty serious reversal in wireless frame business to date.

Readers, what do you think? How many of you are women? How many wireless frame owners do you know who are female?

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