Direct Marketing reports that a new survey from Bronto Software says that "almost a third of men (30%) now shop e-tail sites weekly, compared to only 18% of women." What makes that interesting is that a year ago, men and women shopped online at approximately equal levels, according to the same study.
The shift in behaviors came as a surprise to researchers, who speculate that one reason may be that "better use of technologies like mobile landing pages and beacons by brick-and-mortar retailers have sent more women shoppers back into stores. That could be behind the eight-point increase (from 34 to 42%) in ladies who said they shopped online less than once a month in Bronto's new survey."
The shift in behaviors came as a surprise to researchers, who speculate that one reason may be that "better use of technologies like mobile landing pages and beacons by brick-and-mortar retailers have sent more women shoppers back into stores. That could be behind the eight-point increase (from 34 to 42%) in ladies who said they shopped online less than once a month in Bronto's new survey."
- KC's View:
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I wonder to what degree the improved economy may be playing a role here, giving women a little bit more money and maybe even a little bit more time with which to visit physical stores; tighter time and a tighter economy may have played to a desire for a more focused and economical experience, which they found online. While men just love the idea of not having to walk into a store, regardless of how the economy is doing.
That said ... I always get a little nervous about these kinds of generalizations, just because painting with such a broad brush seems to make it inevitable that one will miss the subtleties of what's really going on.
