Web means men no longer afraid of shopping

Post by Steven Cox on 24th October 2011
 in 3G, E-commerce, General news, Retail

With more than half of young men now shopping online at least every couple of days, the internet is helping change the age-old bias towards retailers targeting women with their advertising.

So says Danielle Pinnington, managing director of shopping research group Shoppercentric, whose study also showed that almost equal numbers of men and women spend at least half an hour a week browsing non-food items online.

Shoppercentric's research found that men also put price first when they're hunting for online purchases – well ahead of product quality, which was said to be a key factor by only one in seven of those surveyed.

Ms Pinnington said her company's findings dispelled the myth that men hated shopping, but suggested that retailers needed to adopt new tactics to attract the 'new man' who is quite happy to research and buy products online.

 “The online channel offers men a much less laboured and clutter-free approach to shopping," she told Retailgazette.co.uk.

Men's shopping is much more mission-based, the survey found, with 49 per cent looking to get the process done as quickly as possible, against just under a third of women.

Pinnington concluded: “If there is one change a retailer makes, we’d recommend that it is opening up communications with male shoppers and find ways to re-connect, not disconnect."