A study by Yahoo! and Starcom/Mediavest Group offers some interesting insights about women and how they interact with the web. The survey interviewed 1199 women about how they use the Internet. Here are a few of the findings:

• The Internet is the preferred media among women and is the 4th most time intensive activity behind work, sleep and time spent with the family.
• The content most popular with women includes subjects relating to news, weather, finance and games – items not found in most popular women’s magazines.
• Women’s online spending habits are increasing and they are also using websites extensively to make decisions before purchasing in the offline world.
• Average time spent actively online each day was 3.3 hours.
• If offered only one choice as to a source of news, information and entertainment, 65% of women surveyed chose the Internet.
• 43% of the women surveyed make regular online purchases.
• 58% stated convenience as the major motivator for shopping online.
• The web is not a spare time activity for the women surveyed and it is accessed at various times of the night and day.

What this means to marketers is that women need to be recognized for the dominant decision maker in consumer and B2B markets that they are. Women outnumber men 51% to 49%. Women make the major decisions in households 75% of the time. Women account for more than 50 percent of stock ownership in the US and by 2010 they will represent 50 percent of the private wealth in America, or about $14 trillion. By 2020 that number is expected to rise to $22 trillion.

Step aside men, women are in charge.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

(Source: Yahoo! Inc.)

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