Are You Missing Out on the Net’s Largest Market?
March 4th, 2008 - Stuart Lisonbee, Content Director
Just last year, a change occurred to the demographics of the World Wide Web. For the most part, it occurred with little fanfare. Dedicated Internet marketers, however, definitely noticed.
So what is this grand event? Queue drum roll…
In short, female Web users now outnumber male users. Okay, I know. You’re thinking, “Wow, that’s it? Pretty anti-climactic if you ask me!”
And you’re right. It is downright anti-climactic if your target market is cats, dogs, or fish. For the rest of us that are going after humans, this is a big deal! For years it had always been assumed that the number of men surfing the Web would be greater than the number of women doing the same. Well, that assumption started out in peril, and now it is dead.
If your target market isn’t exclusively male, and yet you’ve failed to put enough resources into attracting the female consumer, then the time for ignoring the fairer sex is over. It’s time to figure out what women want and start giving it to them.
So What DO Women Want?
Want to sell something to people? Find out where people are and what their interests are. Here are a few stats regarding the human race’s better half for you to mull over:
- 47% of female Web users (versus 53% of men) visit video sites (such as YouTube) versus 27% a year ago. They are also visiting more often, more than twice as often as men.
- Burst Media reports that 54% of women shopped online during the first half of 2007, buying mostly clothing, financial products, and groceries. Wealthier women shop online more (68% of those with household incomes that break six figures versus 49% of those with incomes lower than $35,000). GSI Commerce reports that women are also more likely than men to take advantage of limited-time offers or free gifts that are included with purchase.
- Female casual gamers match men in numbers, but women are more likely to pay to support their casual gaming habit (versus “enthusiastic” gamers who play more violent games like first-person shooters). Women made up 75% of casual game purchases.
- According to Jupiter Research, among young women (aged 25 to 34) nearly half have a college degree and are the most likely group, among women, to watch full-length TV shows and video clips online. This group is also more likely to search for local restaurants and entertainment, visit social networking sites, read blogs, and download music.
- 84% of women turn to the web for medical information versus 72% of men. In the young women age group (25-34), over 90% use the web for medical information versus 75% for women age 65 and over while overall 50% say they turn to the ‘net more than they turn to their doctor.
- The University of Manitoba found that while many women say they found online dating meaningful, many also said it was for losers. Good luck figuring that one out!
- 43 million moms go online daily and spend an average of 85 minutes per day there. Moms also visit blogs more often with 15% reading blogs daily versus 8% for all women, while 7% of moms blog daily versus 3% for women overall.
So there you have it. Who says that women are difficult to understand?