The New Female Consumer: Brands Must Evolve to Stay Relevant
The modern female consumer isn’t just buying products – she’s buying into a worldview. More than ever, women are making purchasing decisions based on values, cultural alignment, and authenticity. Daughter Creative, a creative agency at the forefront of this evolution, believes that brands failing to recognise this shift risk irrelevance.
Led by CEO Stephanie Kochorek, Daughter is building up a knowledge base. Given their diverse canon of work in community-driven markets, the agency has learnt that today’s female consumer refuses to be categorised. Through strategic brand work with companies like Moss Postpartum and Calgary Wild FC, Daughter is striving to reshape how brands engage with women in ways that go above and beyond outdated marketing tropes and performative gestures.
Women’s Economic Power: A Shift Too Big to Ignore
Women’s financial influence is growing at an unprecedented rate. According to research by Nielsen, women control $31.8 trillion in global spending today, and by 2028, they are projected to control 75% of discretionary spending. In the U.S., women already drive 85% of purchasing decisions. A historic wealth transfer is also on the horizon: over the next decade, $30 trillion will shift to women in the U.S. alone. This economic power translates into consumer influence on a scale that brands can no longer afford to overlook or misunderstand.
Despite these numbers, a survey conducted by indie agency Terri & Sandy found that 91% of women feel advertisers and brands do not fully understand them. With so many brands still failing female consumers, those that do establish a meaningful connection are seeing the benefits of a deeper, more authentic engagement.
Take Calgary Wild FC, for example. Women’s sports are no longer an underdog story – they are a business opportunity, a cultural movement, and an economic force. Yet, traditional sports marketing often falls into two tired narratives: hyper-feminine branding or an aggressive need to “prove” toughness. Daughter Creative partnered up with Wild FC to craft a brand narrative which rejects the tired old clichés and asserts a powerful new message: “We’re not here to prove anything. We are already here.”
Rather than conforming to outdated expectations, with a little help from Daughter, Wild FC is building a brand image that speaks to women who aren’t looking for a seat at the table but rather building their own.
The initial launch of Wild FC’s new look resulted in 294 media articles and interviews, 169M impressions and $1.5M CAD in ad value equivalency proving that cultural relevance and authenticity are the real drivers of engagement with today’s female consumer.
A New Narrative for Motherhood
Elsewhere, in the “New Mum Economy”, the conversation around postpartum recovery has long been dominated by unrealistic expectations and the particularly toxic "bounce-back" narrative. Moss Postpartum House is challenging this by shifting the focus to whole-body healing, mental well-being, and sustainable recovery.
Joining forces with Daughter, Canada’s first dedicated postpartum house is eager to celebrate stretch marks and body changes as symbols of strength and adaptation, as opposed to something to “fix.” This extends to the language they use – swapping words like "repair" and "prevent" for "nourish" and "resilience.” Simple but effective messaging which resonates with real women because it aligns with the realities of modern motherhood, rejecting imposed ideals in favour of honesty and empowerment.
This innate understanding of today’s female consumer requires a shift in mindset which Daughter is embracing with enthusiasm. “Women’s purchasing decisions are driven by emotion, experience, and ethics,” says Stephanie Kochorek. “Research shows they form brand attachments based on sensory appeal: packaging, design, and overall experience matter significantly. However, they are also more fluid in their brand loyalty, prioritising value and alignment over long-standing brand history.”
Research has also found that for Gen Z women, activism is an expectation, not an extra. “They want brands to engage in women’s rights and social issues, not just sell products. This extends into healthcare and personal agency, with increasing demand for brands that support reproductive autonomy and fertility tracking,” Stephanie points out.
In their work with Moss Postpartum, Daughter is demonstrating how brands can authentically show up, by ditching the “pinkwashing” in favour of messaging with deeper meaning inspired by real values.
So what can we learn from Daughter’s close relationships with brands in the New Female Consumer space? And what should brands do to stay relevant? Stephanie has a few suggestions:
Invest in Authenticity: Women want brands to reflect their real lives. This means addressing topics that matter, from postpartum realities to women’s sports, with honesty and depth rather than performative gestures.
Adapt to Fluid Brand Loyalty: Women are more willing to switch brands based on value alignment, meaning that simply having a well-established name is no longer enough. Ethical business practices, sustainability, and community engagement are increasingly non-negotiable factors in purchasing decisions.
Recognise the Power of Design & Experience: Sensory appeal, packaging, and how a product or service “feels” play a significant role in purchasing behaviour. Brands that neglect the emotional and aesthetic aspects of their offerings risk losing female consumers to competitors who prioritise these elements.
The Future is Female (and Brands Need to Catch Up)
The shift in female consumer behaviour is a fundamental market evolution that demands to be taken seriously. With women controlling more wealth and making the majority of purchasing decisions, brands must take a long-term approach to understanding and engaging with them meaningfully.
Daughter Creative’s work with brands like Wild FC and Moss Postpartum demonstrates what’s possible when companies align themselves with the realities, needs, and aspirations of the new female consumer. For brands looking to stay ahead, the message is clear: adapt or become obsolete.
