August 24th, 2010

The Internet is a Woman’s World

It’s no secret that web usage has grown exponentially over the past decade. What may surprise some people is how web usage has grown and developed differently across gender. The latest report from ComScore, entitled “Women on the Web:  How Women Are Shaping the Internet” examines the gender differences in internet habits, and finds that men and women spend their time online very differently. It’s more complicated than assuming that men spend their time looking at sports and automotive sites, while women are more focused on celebrity gossip and magazines.  The ComScore study found that women (who make up less than half of global internet users) are more engaged on the internet and are spending more time and money online than men.

Here are some highlights from the report:

  • Women spent an average of 24.8 hours online in April 2010, while men spent 22.9.
  • The average 15+ female spends 8% more time online than her male counterpart.
  • 56% of adult women say they use the internet to stay in touch with people. Only 46% of men say that.
  • Online categories in which women spend a higher percentage of their online time than men include: social networking, e-mail, instant messengers, retail, online gaming, community, education, photos and blogs.
  • Women spend 16.3% of their monthly online time on social media. Men spend 11.7% on social media.
  • The group most responsible for the growth in social media usage is middle aged-women, age 45 and over.
  • 15-24 year old females spend an average of about 350 minutes per month on Facebook. Males in the same age group spend just under 300 minutes per month on Facebook.
  • While Twitter adoption rates are similar for males and females, usage varies between men and women. Men are more likely to post their own tweets, and women are more likely to look for deals and promotions.
  • Women spend 20% more time on retail websites than males.
  • Women account for 71% of all dollars spent online in the US in February 2010 on apparel, accessories, and jewellery.
  • Women comprise 62% of the US audience of Groupon and 67% of the US audience of LivingSocial.
  • While Google is the most used search engine across the board, higher percentages of women than men use other search engines, such as Bing.

As marketers, we can use this information to more effectively reach our target audiences online. By knowing what activities and types of websites men and women across age groups prefer, it becomes easier to target specific niche audiences in the areas where they are already spending their online time. Knowing how your target audience behaves is the first step towards being able to reach them and appeal to them with your message.

Image by Ed Yourdon.

Communications