Where's Waldo for Women at CES 2009. Flickr: Jochen Siegle/TechShowNetwork

Maybe a bad morphing of “Innovate or Die” but of critical importance none-the-less. As CE sales are forecasted to decrease by .6% in 2009 (Consumer Electronics Association, Jan ‘09), now is the time to be in tune with what consumers want. And by consumers, I mean women. Women buy 57% of consumer electronics, but influence 90% of all CE purchases (Fast Company, Jan ‘09). A staggering power specifically considering how male-dominated the technology industry is. When walking through the isles of CES, the male to female ratio is 7-1!

A quote from Business Week on the last day of 2008 explains this problem articulately:

“The problem at the heart of the industry today is that CE companies still design for their original, early adopter geek audience. Tech geeks drove the development of the CE industry when it was new and there was a steep adoption curve. But, now that grade schoolers and hockey moms carry iPhones, consult their GPS for driving directions, bank online, and share family photos on Flickr, CE companies need to do more than rely on consumer curiosity to stay alive.” - Sohrab Vossoughi

How do you break down the sex barrier? It’s a combination of product development and marketing. Less buttons, more intuitive programming, provide consumer more ownership, a change in vernacular (not 1.21 gigawatts of space - instead it’s 5,000 pictures or 20 DVR programs) and the list goes on. What’s most important isn’t identifying the problem, that seems obvious at this point, it’s what are consumer electronics companies going to do about it?

2009 CE Sales Should Fall 0.6% To $170.9 Billion