Women rule the Web in e-spending

Move over men; women rule the World Wide Web. There are more of them online, accounting for well over 50% of home Internet users, according to Nielsen//NetRatings, and they spend more than men do.

During the 2004 holiday season, women were the driving force behind online sales, which rose 25% from the previous year, to $23.2 billion, according to the e-spending report from Nielsen//NetRatings, Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Harris Interactive.

Every day more women join the millions already online, so you can bet e-tailers will bend over backwards to court them. As well they should: Women use the Web far more efficiently than men do. They generally know what they’re looking for, get it, and move on to other chores. While women view fewer sites than men, they stay on them longer.

But most important to e-tailers, women quickly outspend men once they feel comfortable shopping online. Because women make most of the buying decisions in two-partner households, and growing numbers of single women are using the Web, e-tailers would do well to find out what women want and give it to them.

One thing is clear: Women don’t want a hard sell. They want information. And they want to be able to ask for more of it or have their questions answered immediately. Sites that provide a live chat feature are likely to gain women’s trust. Also, knowing that women take longer than men to feel comfortable making purchases online, e-tailers would do well to address the issue upfront, and even encourage women to search elsewhere and return when they feel ready.

Women often visit a site a dozen times or more before making a purchase, usually a modest one, around $50. After an initial success, however, women ramp up quickly, spending less time online than their male counterparts, but spending more money.

Women’s online presence was felt clearly during the 2004 holiday shopping season. Online clothing sales increased by 22% from the previous year, according to VeriSign, while photo printing and sharing sales increased an impressive 95%.

PriceGrabber.com reported sales spikes of 149% in jewelry, 239% in apparel, 153% in home and garden and 313% in flowers—making consumer electronics gains of 121% look anemic. Consumer electronics remains Overstock.com’s largest category, but the site saw a fivefold increase in clothing purchases, a category they didn’t even have 18 months ago.

“Women are flocking to the Web, and all indications are their numbers will grow even stronger in the future,” writes Sandy Berger on computer help site Compukiss.com. “It will not be surprising to see their preferences as well as their numbers influence the online world.”

As more women go online, expect the Web to become more content driven, more dynamic and more interactive, as women demand better information and the ability to communicate in real time. And expect online sales to soar, because once women discover the time- and cost-saving features of Web shopping, they’re hooked.

Advice: Given this trend, businesses should reassess online marketing messages to make sure they appeal to women. And companies should launch or augment live-chat capabilities to improve relationships with current and potential buyers.