Retail Therapy- Women’s Online Shopping Habits
July28
According a study by AOL on Women’s online shopping habits – women control over $4.3 trillion, roughly 73 percent of US household spending. No surprise that many of these women squeeze 27 hours of activities into the standard 24-hour day. This is a fabulous study to put a number of your marketing programs into perspective. Download the study here. We have also recently taken a look at retailers catering for women and their families.
We already knew this right now? But there are some staggering figures below.
Women love to share their product and brand opinions, as we saw on the fierce competitiveness on the Australian Target blogging mums page on Kidspot recently.
40 % percent say they spend equal time shopping online and offline.
Clothing is the number one purchase choice for women online, with books and movies in second place.
60 % of women respond to email offers, making it the most influential driver of purchases.
The most popular day for shopping was Friday, so you know when to get your promo’s out!
Seven out of ten women sign up for retailers’ email alerts.
The study did label women complicated shoppers, which is irrelevant and unfounded. But the results are simple – just give them what they want, in the easiest most convenient way possible!

Really interesting facts here Nat and very motivating for us women who own female dominated sites.
Exactly my point Michelle – Even if women don’t front up to a store with the actual ‘cheque book’ eg. When buying a car, they have most likely done all of the product benefit comparisons and research behind the purchase. Should never be underestimated!
Some compelling numbers there Nat.
‘Womenomics’ is an interesting area, it cuts both ways. While its crucial to reach the bulk of the shoppers, if your brand can also offer a product to ‘house husbands’ you are in a really strong position.
In AdNews (16/7) Euro RSCG chief strategy officer Claudia David reckons that: –
“… We know more men are involved in looking after kids, but all marketing communication talks to mums. With the rise of single households, a lot of men do grocery shopping but no grocery brands talk to them. the messages are all geared mostly to women.”
I’d love to see some Aussie brands testing in this area. Build a strong base with female shoppers and test product offerings for males.
They may even do the washing up in gratitude?
Go brands for blokes!
Great info! I always thought that Thursday was the best day for shopping online… will let my estore clients know! Cheers.
Gender marketing is also covered in the current marketing mag, an article worth a read for anyone specifically targeting the female buyer (and who isn’t!) I also wrote a less serious response to the article on my blog, http://claireyhewitt.blogspot.com/2010/08/purchasing-girl-power.html
Warren has an excellent point, my husband was ‘housedad’ for a day a week while I was at work, he felt like the only one in the universe, I even got him a t-shirt that says “housedads are the new black.” As people kept thinking he was just “filling in” for me.