Mars-Venus:
Who Rules The Holiday Shopping Roost?
The Battle Of The Sexes Heats Up Online, According To
America Online Shopping Survey
Who says men don't like shopping? Just give them an Internet connection,
and suddenly they become virtual shopaholics.
According to the third annual America Online 'Online Shopping Cities'
survey of more than 6,200 shoppers who research and or or make purchases
online, men are shopping online more than women. And not just by a hair:
the AOL survey says men plan to spend up to 15 percent more online this
holiday season than women, 326 dollars for men vs. 284 dollars for women.
These findings may come as something of a surprise to women. Ninety percent
of the married women questioned think they do more online shopping than
anyone in their households, and value bargain-hunting more than their
male counterparts. While 74 percent of the married men questioned say
they do the most online shopping.
'Sorry guys, but the secret is out,' said Bob Hayes, Vice President and
General Manager, AOL eCommerce. 'Thanks to these survey findings, everyone
now knows that men are closet shoppers, so long as they don't have to
get out of their comfortable chairs to do it.' Hayes continued, 'While
women do represent the majority of online shoppers, men are outspending
them. And, more than that, they are no longer just shopping online for
the convenience, now they are also researching and browsing and comparing
prices.'
The survey uncovered these facts about men who shop online:
- Research or browse online an average of 31 times a month vs. 22 times
for women
- Make 20 percent more purchases online each month than women - 6 vs.
5
- Spend 204 dollars online each month vs. 186 dollars(a) - 42 percent
shop for luxury goods online vs. 35 percent of women
- Are willing to spend 1,751 dollars for a single item online vs. 787
dollars for women
- Plan to spend 592 dollars this holiday season vs. 547 dollars for women
- Plan to spend 15 percent more online for holiday gifts this year than
women (326 dollars vs. 284 dollars), with online spending accounting for
55 percent of their total holiday budget.
Other findings from the survey - Women are more likely than men to say
that finding bargains and deals is important when shopping online (78
percent vs. 74 percent). Men are more likely to say that shopping for
bargains and deals is easier on the Internet (70 percent vs. 64 percent).
-
When doing their holiday shopping, more women get stressed about going
over budget than men (21 percent vs. 16 percent). - The sexes agree that
long lines at malls and stores are the most stressful things about holiday
shopping. - Men claim significantly longer shopping tenure than women.
Approximately 46 percent say they have been shopping online more than
three years, compared to 39 percent of women. - Both men and women agree
that finding bargains online is easier because they can comparison shop
and search for items across many different sites or online retailers.
Top holiday gifts bought online Music or video, clothing and books are
the top three categories on Mars' and Venus' gift lists. However, there
is a significant difference in the number of men planning to purchase
consumer electronics as gifts (38 percent vs. 25 percent) and computer
software or hardware as gifts (37 percent vs. 25 percent). Men also plan
to buy more sporting goods and travel services or tickets for holiday
gifts than women. Women plan to purchase more health & beauty products
and toys. Men(a) Women(a) 1 - music or video 1 - music or video (tied)
2 - clothing - clothing (tied) 3 - books 3 - books 4 - consumer electronics
4 - toys 5 - computer software or games 5 - gift certificates 6 - toys
(tied) 6 - computer software or games (tied) - gift certificates (tied)
- consumer electronics (tied)
Seattle Men, Meet Hartford Women According to regional tabulations,
Seattle boasts the most generous men who plan to spend an average of nearly
771 dollars on gifts this holiday season 38 percent higher than the overall
average for all shoppers in the survey. Hartford, Conn., meanwhile, is
home to the most generous women, who say they plan to spend an average
of 646 dollars this season. Portland, OR meanwhile, has been crowned 'Scrooge
Capitol' among both men and women men there said they plan to spend a
miserly 393 dollars this holiday season; women only 441 dollars.
Biggest spenders live in: Men Women Seattle - 770.80 Hartford- 646 San
Francisco - 759.10 Tampa - 642.40 New York - 758.80 Raleigh - 639.60 Detroit
- 747.30 Chicago - 638.60 Baltimore - 741.90 Atlanta - 628.40 Holiday
Scrooges live in: Men Women Portland - 393 Portland - 441.50 Philadelphia
- 433 Phoenix - 448.60 Cleveland - 448 Dallas or Ft. Worth - 459.30 Tampa
- 454.60 Orlando - 467 Sacramento - 486.80 Sacramento - 476.50 Last-Minute
Shopping Cities According to the AOL survey, there will be more men scrambling
in Chicago than any other major city as the holiday shopping clock ticks
down. Chicago came in as the 1 'last-minute shopping city' in the male
category, with 61 percent admitting they're last-minute shoppers. In no
city did a majority of women admit they are last-minute shoppers, however
Houston did rank 1 for having the most female last-minute shoppers (45
percent). Stay out of the way! Cities with the most last-minute shoppers:
Men Women Chicago - 61 percent Houston - 45 percent Houston - 60 percent
New York - 42 percent Los Angeles - 60 percent Sacramento - 41 percent
Charlotte - 52 percent Orlando - 39 percent Cleveland - 51 percent Charlotte
- 38 percent
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