The acronym WAF has gradually crept into our lives. WAF stands for Wife Acceptance Factor. It’s usually used in relation to a high-tech piece of electronics and especially in when purchasing a home entertainment centre. More and more promotion experts are looking to the critical WAF (wife acceptance factor) of the product they’re selling. Studies repeatedly reveal that women make the closing selection on purchases – some studies say as high as 74% – on what make or model a family will purchase- or if they’re going to buy whatsoever.

In fact, there has been a unexpected trend in the sale of televisions. Even though with the advent of high definition television and the better picture and sound quality of LCD televisions does play a huge role in the increase of televisions sales, industry insiders report that there is another element involved. The Wife Acceptance Factor. Women are now entering electronic stores to replace their existing television sets- they want to get rid of their bulky CRT TV’s and want the lighter sleeker design newer thin televisions have to offer. The good news for manufactures is that not only are women replacing the televisions in their living rooms- but they’re actually buying more- placing TV’s in rooms they never allowed them before, with small flat screens in kitchens, bedrooms and the home office.

Although at first it only referred to the visual of an item- too big or too ugly, WAF can now mean “too” anything; too expensive or too frivolous or too hard to use. Most segments of the marketing world are now aware of WAF. You will hear WAF being used by new furniture and car salesmen- but never more than on the shop floor at an electronics store, when looking to buy a new stereo system or home entertainment centre. WAF is so powerful a factor in men’s buying patterns that men’s forums are bursting with WAF threads and discussions. Look at a forum for men’s toys and you will see thread after thread of discussions on the WAF of everything from motorcycles to their new home theatre.

Wife Acceptance Factor is certainly altering the design and dynamics of our consumer goods. In the last 10 years the demand for sleekly built invisible electronics has sky rocketed. New homes have built in speakers concealed in ceilings and walls. Modern gardens can feature rock garden speakers and one-touch remote controls for a home theatre setup can now cost almost as much as a new television, all to make the spouse happy.