Working girls just wanna've fun
'Work hard, splurge harder' is the new mantra for the upmarket Indian working women.
NEW DELHI: ‘Work hard, splurge harder’ is the new mantra for the upmarket Indian working women. Urban working women belonging to SEC A households, on an average, spend about 24% of their earnings on enhancing the quality of their own life, as against 13% on household purchases. Working women in Mumbai lead in terms of spending on grooming, while saving is the priority for Delhiites.
Other areas of expenditure include savings/investments (23%), spending on children (13%), purchase of durables (9%), insurance premium (7%) and monthly dues such as electricity and water bills and rent (5%), according to a study.
This kind of an expenditure pattern also suggests that for the majority of working women, their income is supplementary rather than the principal income of the family.
“Women no longer feel guilty about spending on themselves. For working women, there is increased legitimacy for self-expenditure as they navigate the outside world,” says Santosh Desai, president, McCann Erickson.
Self-expenditure largely means grooming spends - visits to beauty parlours and purchase of clothing, accessories and personal care products, with 85% of the women saying it is an integral part of their spending. Gifts and presents, expenditure on mobile and entertainment are the other areas of self-expenditure.
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Says Anil Chopra, vice-president, Lakme Lever, “These women want to be noticed as well-groomed professionals and are making an extra effort to look good. For instance, we have seen an increase in the sales of lighter and medium shades of lipsticks that go well in an office setting, as against an earlier preference for darker shades for evening wear.”This change in spending habits of women is also reflected in the way they are represented in ads. “More and more women today are shown in ads outside the context of their homes. Even advertisements on grooming products, the motivation is depicted as achievement, rather than looking good for their husbands, as was the case earlier,” says Mr Desai.
In terms of pampering themselves, Mumbai women lead the pack, spending close to 34% of their salaries on grooming, shopping and entertainment. Kolkata women are next in the pecking order at 24%, followed by Bangalore (23%), Delhi (22%), Hyderabad (20%) and Chennai (16%).
The Hansa Research study polled over 1,400 SEC A working women, both part-time and full-time employees, in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai in the age group 23-45 years.
The safety and convenience provided by shopping malls have helped, feels marketing consultant Harish Bijoor, leading to women shopping on their own, against the earlier practice of shopping with the family.
Saving more than they splurge, Delhi women put 31% of their income in savings or investments. Their counterparts in Mumbai save 26% Kolkata and Bangalore 21% each, Hyderabad 17% and Chennai 16%.
Delhiites, however, top the list for splurging the most on their children, spending close to 20% of their paycheques on them. Women in Hyderabad spend 14% of their income on kids, Kolkata - 13%, Mumbai - 11%, Chennai and Bangalore - 8% each.
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