The perception that women are more extravagent spenders than men does not hold true online, judging from new research into internet shopping habits.
According to a survey carried out for online financial services company directline.com, UK men are seven times more likely than women to spend £1,000 online. This supports the findings of Continental Research which show that males account for almost two-thirds of internet spending in the UK (see
UK Becoming More Internet-Friendly).
A third of women have yet to spend more than £100 on the internet and just one in four is willing to shell out £500 for online holidays and the like.
Men are seemingly much less reticent when it comes to buying online. More than half pay for their motor insurance online and 36% arrange travel cover via the web. One in twenty British males admits to having spent over £5,000 online at any one time, with internet users from Wales or the West Country twice as likely to spend this amount.
“These figures reveal many issues when it comes to purchasing online, not least that men’s trust in using the internet as a shopping channel is currently far greater than women’s,” said Richard Coombe, head of e-commerce at Direct Line.
“This is reflected not only in the high sums of money they are willing to part with, but by figures stating that women neeed greater reassurance of the brand they are buying from.”
However, although women spend less on the internet, they have more confidence in their purchases. An impressive 85% of those questioned saying that they have “never been disappointed” with products or services they have bought online.
