How to Market to the Male e-Shopper, Part 2

If the male consumer values speed and simplicity in any shopping experience, he may value even more the one benefit that only e-commerce based shopping can give him: complete privacy and confidentiality.

Writing to Bloomberg Business Week, reader Ashkan Karbasfrooshan of Montreal explained in 2006, "The Web has given men a private and confidential medium to get information about products they might otherwise be too shy or embarrassed simply too lazy get (offline.)"

Ashkan was convinced it was the Internet that 'revolutionized' men's consumerism. "Few men would walk into a store and inquire about a 'below-the-neck razor,'" he added, "but online, they will gladly interact with the product." Ashkan said further, grooming is one beneficiary of this privacy; although health, further said, was a more important one.

If the seeds of emancipation of the long underserved male consumer were planted in the Internet, brick and mortar retailers and manufacturers were quick to note the emerging growth areas in men's personal care products.

As baby boomers grew older, sales of moisturizers, wrinkle reducers, and age spot reducers also grew. But Clairol and L'Oreal thought to introduce hair dyes and highlighting kits geared toward men. In 2004, L'Oreal launched Men's Expert, the first-ever anti-aging skincare line aimed at the men's market.

Meanwhile, surveys have indicated there is a need among men in the 30s to look attractive to remain professionally competitive. Grooming and attractiveness are believed to be important factors in getting a promotion or a raise.

In addition, younger men, aged 15-34, no longer have any qualms about buying grooming products. The advent of men's lifestyle magazines, like Maxim and FHM, has spawned the appearance- conscious young male who wants to date the appearance-conscious young female. It's a retailers' paradise.

Marketing remains a critical step. Phil Williams, marketing director for the XCD skincare line, explains: If women respond to adwords like 'enhance' and 'beautify,' men shoppers need to see words like 'defend' or 'camouflage,' or they're simply going to walk out that door (or leave the page). Products have also to be named accordingly--no nonsense, now--like Circle Eraser and Stop Lines, Williams said.

Packaged Facts, which has yet to release 2010 figures, reported that men's spending on grooming products was $31.3 billion worldwide in 2009. They project sales to reach $84.9 billion by 2014.

Certainly, e-commerce companies are in the best position to dominate this growth area.