Ever walked into your local Walmart and seen how different the prices are for men’s and women’s products? You’re not the only one who's noticed this phenomenon. At the start of my first semester at Longwood University, I was shopping for the essentials for my college dorm like razors, shaving cream, shampoo, etc. Upon checking the prices to the products, I noticed the prices for some of these items were dramatically different than the products designed to be bought by women.
For instance, a pack of five Walmart brand twin blade razors in the personal care section are only 98 cents, while the women’s package of razors is more than double the price at $2.27.
After seeing this in the store I immediately questioned whether this was some kind of complicated marketing scheme, pricing based on quality or just gender bias. The answer to this price difference is actually none of the things I had previously thought. The real answer to this price difference is there's a large amount of research involved in the process of making a shaving razor and thorough research doesn't come cheap, according to Boston Magazine.
The research that goes into making a razor is much more complicated than you may think. Gillette, a popular razor and blade company for men and women, produces shaving razors worldwide. At the Gillette development headquarters in South Boston, Massachusetts, there are 24 buildings that stretches over 33 acres and is devoted to the research and development of shaving razors.
According to the data concluded by Gillette and published on Business Case Studies, Gillette has found that men are typically less concerned with the quality of their shave and are more concerned with how cheaply they can get it done. Whereas women are typically concerned with specific details, such as how close the shave is, how the blade contours with their body as they shave and how smooth the razor leaves the skin.
As a result, more research goes into developing women's razors, and of course extensive research means spending more money on the development. In turn, we find the discrepancy in sales price at our local Walmart.
I agree with the outcome of this research and think that men do care less about the qualities of a razor and just want it to get the job done. I can see now why this difference exists but this type of price difference doesn’t only apply to razors, it also applies to shaving creams and shaving gels. According to Walmart’s website, the Walmart brand shaving cream for women costs $2.18, while the male version costs twenty cents less at $1.98. This could be the result of less research spent on men's products.
Companies that develop and distribute these products to local drug stores and Walmart’s such as the one located in Farmville, realize that more money is needed to research and develop women’s products because women tend to focus on more specific things in a razor, rather than just caring if it gets the job done or not.This study of both genders using razors could be the actual truth or just stereotypes established by companies to sell products that make assumptions about consumers so they can best predict what they will want to buy next.
