Men vs. women: who buy online more often and why?

Shopping in this world had a different meaning to it in yesteryears but has transformed itself at this present digital age. It used to be a family affair before to go shopping on holidays but now men and women do it with great comfort. It is also a fact that online shopping was mostly done by women, but now women are equipped enough to do it from home too. The question is who shops more? Men or women?

We would find the answers in the passage below.

Men Shopping Vs Women Shopping

The dynamics between men shopping and women shopping do vary and found below are the specifics related to behavioral characteristics that differentiate men shopping and women shopping.

Men shopping online are generally:

Well focused and objective oriented. Their only aim is to seek the goal and that should be the end result. Purchase.

  • Are driven by logic rather than emotion.
  • Undertake upfront studies are made of the product they wish to purchase and decision is taken.
  • Ignore Sale discounts, offers, etc. do not drive the male shopper, and the desire to buy is driven by necessity.

Women, shopping online generally:

  • Enjoy the shopping process as a whole and tend to spend more time shopping online.
  • Shop and enjoy the whole process and regard it as time well spent.
  • Become more decisive on hearsay and product review rather than go by features.
  • Are attracted by advertisements, trends and fashion and decisions slowly evolve in their mindset.
  • Impulsive at times when they see offers or recommendations from others
  • Unplanned but more choosy as they purchase for products that would suit them.

These are the circumstances which decide online purchases between Men shopping and Women shopping.

How Women Shop Vs How Men Shop

Before the real digital era began and the onset of Online shopping set in, it was dominated by men.

Let us examine how Women shop Vs how Men Shop since there are differences in approach.

  • Women prefer shopping online on computers whereas men prefer to shop from their mobile phones.
  • Women start searching for a particular product and end up browsing other products whereas men shop specifically.
  • Even though both sexes are concerned about prices, men do not mind compromising on it, if the quality was better, whereas women try to close the deal.
  • Advertisements, social media, magazine advertisements and tips from friends generally impact both sexes equally.
  • Emails with offers, grab attention of women, are easier than men.
  • Women surf for products after household chores in a relaxed manner whereas men do it from their mobile ‘On the Go’.
  • Men rely on Improved SEO advertising whereas women try to recommend the product on all platforms of social media to their family and friends.
  • Men do not hesitate ordering drinks and food items when depressed, but women engage in purchasing clothes and fashion for relief.

These are the salient differences on how women shop Vs how men shop.

 Women vs. Men Shopping Statistics

The women vs men shopping statistics are changing as more and more men are shopping online.

Ever since the online shopping picked pace, men have gone overboard and tilted the scales the other way, with the women vs men shopping statistics changing.

●      Men who indulge in online purchases are found to be between 25 and 49 years of age and nearly 85% of them purchase online compared to women at 77%.

●      Women Vs men shopping statistics reveal that women purchase 7 times a year compared to men at 5 times. Men tend to spend more on each shopping purchase than women.

●      Men search the internet for products like their favorite sports to shop online at 70 % compared to women who spend less time at 30% and they are fast decision makers beating men by 7% in decisions taken.

Difference between men and women shopping

The difference between men and women shopping while shopping online are identifiable through five ways. These are discussed below briefly:

  1. Usage of Mobile Devices;

A study conducted by BI intelligence in the year 2014, men used their smartphones to purchase 22% of their requirements, whereas women used it for only 18%. This indicates that smartphones drive men’s purchases. However all these statistics changed in 2018, through a survey conducted by First insight. Women, in 2018, shopped 40% via their Mobile phones compared to men who stood almost half at 22%.

Therefore, the conclusion for the difference between men and women shopping as far as mobile phones are concerned women do it increasingly.

  1. Women research and compare before shopping more than men:

Women do spend a lot of time analyzing their shopping before purchasing compared to men who take less time. The reasons are:

  • There is a structural difference between men and women’s brains.
  • Men use grey matter which is located on the left hemisphere thus making them focus more on tasks. Women make use of their Cerebral Cortex to complete tasks. The difference between men and women shopping is evident here as women identify and control their urges and emotions before purchasing.
  1. Social media and other reviews influence a woman more than men.
  • 20% of Women are influenced by social media but men only score 10.5% here.
  • 78% of Teenage girls seek social media and 69%  of them seek reviews
  • 77% of women are encouraged by even one positive review to decide positively.
  • Both men and women use online ratings for judging a product equally at 82%.
  1. Men are goal oriented compared to women who love to explore
  • The difference between men and women shopping is that women analyze and then evaluate and men are quicker in decision making.

5. Women Are More Deal Driven When Shopping Online

●      Women go for the best deal available for their grooming and beauty products while online shopping but men get the best product which suits them and try to get a good deal with that.

Conclusion:

From the above passage, it can be safely concluded that men vs. women shopping do have different approaches based on behavioral tendencies, but the end result is the same with the product purchased. Men vs women shopping do have their commonalities too. It is also true if they are from the same family, they tend to consult each other and at that point, Men Vs Women shopping take decisions that are mutually beneficial.

Akash Dwivedi
Akash Dwivedi
Akash Dwivedi is a seasoned Digital Marketing Professional actively working in the field of Online Marketing for a long time. Akash spent the last one and a half decade promoting a large number of websites on search engines through various organic, paid and Social media strategies. He is currently working in the capacity of SEO Head with Desertcart. Akash has rich experience in designing & managing the entire Growth Marketing Plan and Strategy on online businesses. He has worked with many major brands from across the globe and successfully helped them in the business growth. He is having sound knowledge in optimizing and promoting shopping sites and portals, helping them achieving their business goals and objectives.
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