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Men outspend women online in UK but don’t do as much shopping homework

Food, travel and fashion are top ecommerce targets for both sexes, but males buy more sportwear and women buy more health and beauty products.

September 10, 2015

When it comes to online shopping among U.K. consumers, men are more inclined to spend more but women do much more research and take advantage of electronic devices in assessing and making a purchase, according to a new Tryzens’ study.

The male U.K. consumer, on average, outspends female counterparts online by 44 percent but spends less time shopping. The female U.K. consumer tends to do more product-related homework and use more devices as part of their purchase activity.

"In terms of online preferences, our research infers that women showed more of a bias toward looking for deals online and peer group opinions before buying. Men also engaged in these ecommerce features [but] simply did not see them at quite the same level of priority," stated Tryzens CEO Andy Burton in an announcement.

The reveal is the first part of the study’s findings, which highlight a number of differences by gender and age in regard to online shopping preferences and activity. The research polled 1,000 U.K. online consumers, 400 men and 600 women ages 16 and older. The second research results are due to available in early October.

Other key findings include:

• In terms of online preferences, women showed more of a bias toward looking for deals online, as well as for consumer reviews to inform purchase decisions. Men did not prioritize these attributes as highly.
• Both men and women still relied heavily on full-screen devices for online shopping with the laptop being the preferred device, though men had a notably greater reliance on desktops.
• Gender was not an influence on the most important preferences that factor in the minds of online shoppers for a positive experience. Both agree the same expectation of "prerequisite experiences" (product range, site speed, ease of use, delivery options).
• Equally both men and women have the same frustrations about the top issues around poor online shopping experience (prioritizing navigation, search, and website speed as key concerns).

"Both sexes rely heavily on full-screen devices for online shopping with the laptop still the preferred device, though men had a notably greater reliance on desktops. But don’t underestimate the rise of the smartphone. Our research found that the smartphone is now tipping the balance for 16-18 year olds and that is pointing to the future expectation of online shopping," Burton stated.

For more on the research and to read a white paper on results click here.